A Black Fairytale
by xemeraldeyesx
Summary: It's 1968 and the Black sisters are preparing to go back to Hogwarts, Bellatrix for her final year there. But can Diagon Alley equip them for what will happen in detention with the new Professor? It's time to learn about Muggle fairytales for a change.
1. Chapter 1

It was late August 1968, and the Black sisters were preparing to go to Diagon Alley with their mother, the infamous Druella Black, and her sister in law, Walburga Black. Their cousin, eight year old Sirius, was ecstatic that his mother was leaving, if only for a few hours. His younger brother, Regulus, however, was not. Young Sirius ran around the house chanting random spells and hoping they'd work with his make-shift wand made from a stick he had found in the garden and fashioned into a wand like instrument. Excitement had overcome him at the thought of his cousins going to Diagon Alley. It was a reminder of the fact that he would be going to Hogwarts one day.

"Be good Sirry," Andromeda, the middle sister, reprimanded Sirius. He obeyed his favourite cousin, nodding and grinning impishly. Bellatrix scoffed in disgust at her sister, and Sirius reacted by kicking her in the shins. But before she could draw her own wand and curse him, he had run off up the many staircases that number 12, Grimmauld Place held.

"We're late Bella, Rodolphus will be waiting when we get there," Andromeda said to her sister, coaxing her out of hurting Sirius. Bella calmed down and put her wand safely back into the back pocket of her dark jeans.

"Ugh, Muggle clothes," she said, shuddering and wrinkling her nose in disgust. Narcissa and Andromeda rolled their eyes at their sister's loathing of anything remotely Muggle, and followed their mother and aunt into the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder. "Why do we have to wear them anyway?"

"KNOCKTURN ALLEY!" they shouted, going one after the other, consumed by the green flames. Narcissa, the youngest sister and least experienced at floo-travel, went last, and landed with a thud in the fireplace of Borgin and Burkes. She tried to correct herself with grace, whilst her sisters giggled uncontrollably. Narcissa blushed, cursing her white-blonde hair and fair complexion for making the blush more visible. Stepping out of the fireplace, Narcissa noticed her mother and aunt conversing with Lucius Malfoy senior, a tall, intimidating man with a cane. This wasn't what bothered her though, the fact that Mr. Malfoy's son might be around was what froze the blood in her veins.

"Hello Narcissa," a smooth voice said behind her, and she hoped to god it was one of the talking heads mounted on the wall, though she knew full well who the voice belonged to. She turned to find Lucius Malfoy Junior standing with his arms folded, looking impossibly handsome even in Muggle clothing. His blonde hair was past his shoulders, framing his perfect, angular face and exaggerating his piercing blue eyes that so matched Narcissa's. He towered over her considerably, his black t-shirt clinging to every contour of his chest that was level with Narcissa's face, and so hard not to look at. He practically looked like a male version of her, and she had always thought herself to be so beautiful that if she did meet a man who looked anything like her she'd fall madly in love with him straight away. However Lucius' personality was a major flaw in her eyes; he mocked her every chance he got and acted as if he, of all people, was better than her. The thought almost made her burst out laughing, though she had to admit their looks were parallel.

"Lucius," she said, nodding slightly whilst glaring at him and feeling as if her heart would shatter her rib cage any second. It was hard to loathe someone who looked so… beautiful. Even if she had hated him for the past three years they had spent at Hogwarts together.

"Do you always make such dramatic entrances?" he said, smiling down at her cheekily and nodding towards the fireplace from which she had come. She blushed furiously and scowled at him, turning away in a huff. She wouldn't waste her breath yelling at such a conceited idiot. But he wasn't done with her yet. "Wait," Narcissa felt a hand close around her arm and turned to unleash all her fury on him. She didn't imagine that she looked particularly pretty when she was angry, but at that moment she didn't really care. "I'm sorry," he whispered, due to their close proximity. All thoughts of her sisters possibly watching were dissolved in her mind by the feeling of his breath on her face, the fact that his hand was still holding onto her arm and that if she just tilted her head up an inch, their lips would meet.

"Come on Cissy!" Bella called from the doorway out into Knockturn, reminding her where she was. Narcissa turned and ran out of the shop, not looking back. Her flustered look gave her away, though. "Have a heated debate?" Bella asked, sniggering with Andromeda. Ganging up on her was the only time they agreed on anything. Narcissa ignored them, her heart still palpitating too fast for her to be angry at the same time and manage not have a heart attack. She silently cursed the day she met Lucius Malfoy, but all the same, she couldn't seem to get his smug face out of her mind.

***

Walburga and Druella occupied themselves in Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour whilst the Black sisters made their way around Diagon Alley to collect their school things. In Flourish and Blotts, Bellatrix was looking around in the dark arts section alone when a pair of hands covered her eyes. Reacting as she normally would, Bellatrix turned swiftly and flipped the person, who so dared to touch her, on their back.

"Bella! It's me!" Rodolphus claimed, holding his hands up, half in surrender, half in defence. Bella immediately relaxed and smiled, helping her boyfriend up, whilst he tried fixing his messed up brown hair. He was a lot more muscular than Bellatrix; however he was no match for dainty Bellatrix with her superb skill and bad temper. Even Rodolphus would admit that.

"Sorry!" she apologized. "Where does it hurt?" He pointed to his arm and she kissed it. He pointed to his neck and she kissed it. Finally he pointed to his mouth and he kissed her before she could do anything. She pulled away after a while, going back to the book she had in her hands.

"Look at this," Bella said excitedly, her violet eyes twinkling. Rodolphus groaned and rolled his eyes, but she ignored him. "The Philosopher's stone. It produces the Elixir of life that makes the drinker immortal."

"Come on Bella! Can we not talk about the dark arts for two minutes?" he moaned. She sighed and put the book back.

"Look, if we're ever going to join… the Dark Lord, then I want to know everything," Bellatrix lowered her voice when uttering the dark lord's name. Rodolphus glanced around to make sure they were alone. "It's our last year; soon we'll be Death Eaters for sure."

"Yeah, I just wish this year would go faster," Rodolphus sighed. Suddenly he tensed up, and Bellatrix did the same. "Who's there?" he said, deepening his voice and raising it. His brother, Rabastan, emerged from around a bookcase.

"Hey, just me," he said, smiling the heartbreaking smile that every girl in fifth year and under swooned at the sight of. "Hey Bella, is Andromeda with you?"

"Yeah," she said unenthusiastically. "She's off somewhere, probably in the Muggle studies section."

"Thanks," Rabastan said, nodding his head at the two of them and leaving them to contemplate becoming Death Eaters in peace. Stalking through Flourish and Blotts, looking for Andromeda, Rabastan couldn't help contemplating the idea too. He and his brother had talked of joining the Dark Lord many times, and Rodolphus had even performed the Imperius Curse. But the thought always scared him, especially the Dark Mark that he would have carved into his arm. Once he was in, there was no way of getting out.

"Meda?" Rabastan called out into the store. There was a bang and muffled conversation. Rabastan followed it until he found Andromeda covered in books and intertwined on the floor with Ted Tonks, a Hufflepuff from his Potions class. "What the-?"

"Rabastan!" Andromeda said, laughing nervously whilst trying to stand. "Wha- what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said, smiling smugly and leaning against a bookshelf. He had been trying to get Andromeda, who so resembled her sister Bellatrix, to be his girlfriend for five long years; this was exactly the kind of leverage he needed. "Ted," he said, nodding to his fellow classmate who was now standing and helping Meda up.

"We were… um, we were," Andromeda stuttered. Ted cut in for her.

"What do you want Lestrange?"

"Hmm, let's see… what have I wanted for the past five years?" he replied, tapping his chin thoughtfully and staring at the ceiling. He looked down at Meda to find her jaw open wide, and Ted standing in front of her protectively.

"No way!" he yelled gruffly, narrowing his eyes.

"Well then, you're mother will be _very_ surprised when she reads her mail in the morning Andromeda, if I were you I wouldn't go back there, she'd be pretty angry, not to mention your aunt-"

"OK!" Meda shouted, stepping around Ted. "Fine," she said, looking straight at Rabastan's face. "Just don't expect me to fall for you or anything."

"We'll see about that," he replied, quietly enough so that only she could hear. Her face went bright red with rage and she had to use all her will power not to punch him. Rabastan had leverage over her now, and she was powerless against him. The Lestrange's were notorious for blackmailing.

***

Steam billowed from the Hogwarts express as it waited at Platform nine and three quarters at Kings Cross station. The last stragglers were boarding and bidding goodbye to their parents, and it was very nearly time for departure.

"Cissa!" a dark haired, pale skinned girl called out from inside a compartment. Narcissa smiled and entered.

"Amara!" she called back to her best friend, whom she hadn't seen all summer. They hugged and sat down, catching up on all the things they'd done. Narcissa was careful to leave out her little meeting with Lucius Malfoy. As much as she trusted and loved Amara, she knew her best friend would interpret it the wrong way. Even though Narcissa didn't know what the _right _way was, she didn't feel the need to tell Amara.

"Hey girls," a boy with dark, messy hair and smouldering brown eyes said, entering the compartment and smiling at the girls. Narcissa smiled back, until her eyes landed on Lucius standing behind him. Unfortunately for her, the dark haired boy sat beside Amara, who was fluttering her eyelashes uncontrollably, so Lucius was forced to sit next to her.

"Hi Argon," Amara breathed. Narcissa rolled her eyes, and then remembered how she had nearly acted in the same way with Lucius. She tried her best not to blush, and most of all, not to look at Lucius. Though, despite her reluctance to acknowledge his presence, he leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Hey Cissa." She tensed up immediately and snapped her head around, nearly bumping her nose with his. He sat back and laughed, dimples appearing in his porcelain-like cheeks. Argon and Amara didn't flinch, too engrossed in each other to notice anything else.

"Hi Lucius," she replied, gritting her teeth and loading her voice with as much venom as possible. He stopped laughing and looked at her, his expression very different.

"Oh come on, you're not still mad are you?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest and arching a blonde eyebrow. He had grown over the summer, and the muscles in his arms bulged.

"When am I ever not mad at you?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest and then unfolding them once she realised that they touched his arms. Lucius grinned and leaned into her, until it looked certain he was about to kiss her. Then his head turned and he whispered once again in her ear.

"When I'm this close." She tried desperately to hold onto her anger, not letting it slip away this time. But it was no use, her hormones were getting the better of her brain, and so she simply froze herself until he moved to a safer distance, refusing in the logical part of her brain to let herself do anything stupid that she'd regret later on, like kissing him.

"Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, fight," the students chanted, running down the train and interrupting Narcissa and Lucius. Then a girl in Narcissa's year opened the door to their compartment, clearly out of breath.

"Narcissa! It's Bellatrix, she's in a fight!" the girl ran off immediately and Cissa, Lucius, Amara and Argon followed the crowd. Most people made way for Narcissa and Lucius, once they realised it was them. The only ones who didn't were either friends of theirs or wanted to watch the fight too badly themselves. In actual fact, the word that the students should have been chanting was "duel" but considering that Bella's opponent, a seventh year Hufflepuff girl, had blood on her face, Cissa guessed it hadn't started out so courteously. A throng of students near the duel, a few that Narcissa could identify as Goyle and Avery, were chanting slightly different words, like "mudblood" and other degrading terms. Bellatrix's robes were torn slightly, reminding Narcissa that she hadn't changed into hers, but she didn't seem to mind.

"You don't deserve to be here," Bella sneered. "Go back to Muggle-land where you belong!" The crowd was a mixture of jeers and cheers at this point. It was hard to tell who the crowd favoured most. Some people were even placing bets, and encouraging others to do so, but nobody won a sickle that day on the Hogwarts Express, because a Professor came and broke up the brawl. He looked almost like one of the students, though slightly taller and rounder. His black hair was thinning, but still covered the most part of his head.

"Back to your compartments! Nothing to see here," he ushered the students away from the centre of the fight. "Ah, Miss Black, how nice to meet you. I had hoped it would be in slightly different circumstances, though." The blank look on the remaining students' faces and the silence that followed made him carry on. "I am Professor Webb, the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher," he said proudly, smiling when realization dawn on them and their mouths formed Os.

"Sorry Professor," Bellatrix apologised, casting her eyes down and letting her straight black hair fall over her face. It was hard to tell whether she was really sorry or not. Professor Webb was taken slightly aback by this direct apology. "It won't happen again." The side of her lip curled up slightly in a smile, but the Professor didn't notice.

"Well, all the same," he cleared his throat and regarded the poor Hufflepuff girl with blood dripping from her nose and lip. "Who did this to you?" She was silent, looking at Bellatrix first, and then at everyone else to confuse him. Professor Webb sighed, looking at the others for answers. Nobody stirred.

"Fine then, I would like to see you all in my office on the first day of lessons." He nodded to Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Andromeda, Ted, Narcissa and Lucius, before they could object, or proclaim their innocence, and departed.

***

The new first years entered the great hall, looking around with frantic eyes, taking in the magic of it all. Candles floated in mid air, creating shadows and covering the house tables in a golden glow. Stars glittered on the ceiling that depicted a calm, cloudless night sky. The students whispered, judging by the look of the first years how many would be sorted into their house.

Andromeda was deliberately sitting at the opposite end of the Slytherin table, to keep up her chances of avoiding him.

"Muggle born," Bellatrix whispered to Rodolphus, nodding towards a petrified young wizard, rounder than his classmates, with a head of messy, mousy brown hair and matching eyes. Rodolphus snickered. The headmaster, Professor Dippet, cleared his throat and the hall fell silent.

He commenced his long speech, about welcoming the students, new and old alike. The students rarely paid attention. After most of them had yawned at least several times, Professor Dippet had finished his speech.

"Now, first years follow prefects to the correct common rooms, thank you all and have a wonderful year at Hogwarts," he concluded. The Slytherin table was the first to rise and vacate the great hall, unable to wait to get back to their dark depressing common room in the dungeons.

Andromeda sighed as she flopped down on a green velvet sofa in the Slytherin common room. Her relaxation was short lived when a certain someone crept up behind her.

"Guess who," Rabastan said, covering Meda's eyes. She breathed in sharply and swiped his hands away, jumping off the sofa and turning to look at him.

"What do _you _want?" she said, already knowing the answer. He pretended to be hurt.

"Is that any way to talk to your boyfriend?" he asked, his hand on his heart as if it were aching. The group of first year Slytherin girls who were staring at and, no doubt, whispering about Rabastan sulked off at his question to Meda. At least the first year boys were happy.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Yes, if you blackmailed me into it."

"Well, you're going to have to start acting as if I didn't, because I already told everyone we're going out," he said smugly, smiling cheekily. Just because, as far as they knew, Rabastan was attached, it didn't stop the other girls in the common room from swooning. Meda felt as if she was going to be sick, and the green tinge to the room didn't help her feel better. She cursed the ill-thought-through position of the Slytherin common room underneath the lake, which was the cause of the green light. Salazar Slytherin obviously hadn't hired an interior decorator.

"You did what?" she tried screeching, but it came out as more of a whisper.

"Seeing as you were avoiding me on the train, and did a pretty good job, I decided to tell everyone without you," Rabastan said, shrugging.

"Hey you two love birds!!!" a blonde haired blue eyed girl cooed, entering the common room. Meda groaned. Rabastan had told her best friend. This meant war. "Am I interrupting anything?" Juliet asked, her eyes wide with hunger for gossip.

"No," Meda said immediately. Rabastan wrapped his hand around her waist and gave her a squeeze. She had to try hard not to break his arm, and instead smiled sweetly at him as if they were in love. Her thoughts couldn't help but travel to Ted.

"We were just talking," Rabastan said, smiling in a way that implied they weren't. Andromeda's face flushed red with rage but Juliet mistook it for blushing. She squealed and dragged her best friend off to the girl's dormitories.

"Tell me everything!" she demanded. Meda groaned. "Come on! Spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag, give me the gossip!"

"There's nothing to tell," Andromeda said calmly, sick of Juliet's constant harassment. Juliet looked disheartened.

"There has to be something," she said, folding her arm and eyeing Meda with suspicion. She had the strange feeling that Rabastan was listening in on them somehow, and she knew he wouldn't like it if Juliet became suspicious, and that didn't bode well with Meda either. "What about that Muggle-born you had an obsession with?"

It took all Andromeda's will power to scrunch her nose up in disgust and say, "Ugh, gross, don't remind me." She felt guilty immediately afterwards, but carried on. "Rabastan is so much… better," she said, finding it hard to describe Rabastan with a more endearing term. It was the best she could come up with without having to gag after the words had left her mouth. Juliet seemed pleased with her act, smiling and flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Totally," she said, giggling. "I'm really happy for you Meda," she added, smiling genuinely at her best friend and hugging her. Guilt twisted in Meda's stomach, and she tried forcing it down. It just made her hate Rabastan more, and she had no idea how much longer she could keep up the act of pretending she loved him as passionately as she loathed him.

As they emerged from the girl's dormitories Andromeda and Juliet saw Bellatrix and Rodolphus chatting with Rabastan. Meda froze; she knew Bella would see right through her lies. She never was a very good liar and Bella wasn't easily fooled. Then Meda was spotted by the three, standing frozen next to Juliet.

"Hey Andromeda," Bellatrix greeted her sister a lot more nicely now they were at Hogwarts. Meda was used to it, having experienced four years of it.

"Hi Bells," she said, smiling sweetly, knowing that Bella hated being called Bells. She didn't let on though, but didn't smile either. Nobody else seemed to notice.

"Rabastan just told us the news, congratulations," Rodolphus said to Andromeda in his smooth voice. She forced a smile back at him. Juliet looked ready to melt like ice in the warm presence of both the Lestrange brothers, and sometimes Meda wondered whether it was her connections or her personality that Juliet favoured.

"It's quite a surprise," Bella said, implying suspicion. Andromeda shrugged, not looking at Rabastan. It wasn't the best thing to do to dampen her sister's suspicions, but she didn't care. She couldn't stand the sight of Rabastan at that moment. She needed Ted.

Bella and Rodolphus were like royalty at Hogwarts now that they had reached their final year. Nobody except the teachers were above them. Even the Muggle-borns who didn't know who they were sensed that they were important and not to be trifled with. People rose from the green leather sofas to let them sit once they had finished talking to their siblings, and every Slytherin waited on them hand and foot. But tonight they didn't want to be waited on, they had a prior engagement. Once everyone had vacated the common room, they donned their black cloaks and snuck out to the room of requirement that had formed, for them, a large dining hall. There was an insanely long table in the middle, and a large roaring fire was warming the cold stone room. People whose genders could not be identified sat around the table, in make-shift Death Eater outfits. They all fell silent as the couple entered.

"Why did you call us here?" a boy piped up, his deep voice giving away his gender.

"Do you dare question us?" Bella asked, staring him down. She had sat down next to Rodolphus at the head of the table. "We called you here to discuss what we do every year: the recruiting of first years."

"What is there to discuss?" another boy asked. "We recruit the pure-blood Slytherins." A murmur of agreement followed that was silenced shortly by Rodolphus.

"It isn't that easy, teachers are becoming suspicious and when we leave, who knows what'll happen," Rodolphus said, standing up and balling his hands into fists on the table. "But… seeing as we have lessons tomorrow, we'll postpone this meeting."

The murmur was hesitant to start this time, but it soon did, and nobody silenced it. The Death Eaters vacated the room in pairs, and at least five minutes after each other, so as not to arouse any more unwanted attention. They all crept back into the Slytherin common room and to their beds, their fellow classmates blissfully unaware, too far gone in innocent sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Narcissa Black sat on her four poster bed in the girls' dormitories of the Slytherin wing of the Hogwarts dungeons, combing her long blonde hair. Amara sat watching her, mesmerized.

"You know… he really likes you," she said in monotone, sounding like she was in a dream. Narcissa stopped brushing her hair and looked at her best friend, confused. She didn't want to think about who she hoped "he" was.

"Who?" she asked, acting innocent. Happy with her hair, she stood up and flicked it over her shoulder.

"Lucius," Amara said, out of her dream-like trance. Narcissa froze, but then carried on towards the stairs and into the Slytherin common room. Unfortunately, Lucius was already in there. She was too late to spot him, and he had already spotted her, killing her chances of doing a double take and facing Amara instead.

"Narcissa," Lucius called to her, smiling at her miffed expression. Almost everyone in the common room froze, except for the naïve first years, who had no idea what was going on. They eventually caught on, and stopped talking; looking around in bewilderment at what everyone had stopped for. Narcissa shot Lucius an icy glare that only made him smile more, thus making him look more handsome and Narcissa angrier. She floated down the stairs like a fallen angel, her hair flowing behind her, soft and white like a bride's veil.

"Lucius," she said, sounding polite with the ease of long practice. His gaze did not falter and neither did hers. They were alike in so many ways and everyone but them noticed this. They were both too stubborn to admit it to themselves, let alone others. Almost everyone in the room was holding their breath, not daring to make a sound.

"Look at the time! We better go have breakfast!" Argon announced, followed by murmurs of agreement and hunger. Slowly, but surely, the common room emptied. Narcissa, Amara, Lucius and Argon were the last to leave. Narcissa purposefully put Amara and Argon between her and Lucius at the table in the great hall, but her appetite wasn't complying with her. The rest of the day dragged but she managed to satisfactorily avoid Lucius; that is until she got back to the common room in the evening.

"Cissa," she heard behind her as she entered and made a bee line for the girl's dormitories. She clenched her teeth together and turned to face him, her hands balled into fists. She relaxed them for fear of punching that handsomely smug grin off his beautiful face. "Did you forget?"

"Forget what?" she asked, snapping at him. He looked unfazed, only happier.

"Detention," he said matter-of-factly, and an orchestra practically erupted inside Narcissa's heart. She put it down to rage, and clutched her middle to quieten it. As the last violin solos were dying away, she felt it was safe to reply.

"Oh, right." He chuckled at her and she blushed at the fact that she could make him do something that made him look so… _beautiful_.

"I'll see you there," he said, smiling at her. Her breath caught in her throat as it did when she saw her reflection in the mirror sometimes. But this time it felt a lot better. Before she could form a coherent thought he was gone and she ran up to the girls' dormitories to shower before detention.

* * *

Andromeda arrived at Professor Webb's office just as Rabastan did. He smiled his trademark smile at her but she ignored it; now that nobody was around she didn't have to pretend to like him. He became annoyed at her momentarily, grabbing her wrist just as she was about to open the door. Meda's head snapped up to look at them, her eyes burning with fury that he had the audacity to touch her.

"What is wrong with you?" she snarled, pulling her wrist from his grasp.

"You. You're acting weird," he said, blocking the door from her with his body. She immediately backed away slightly.

"Hmm, maybe because you're blackmailing me into pretending I love you," she said thoughtfully, folding her arms and scowling at him.

"Look," he sighed, running his hand through his hair and sighing. "I didn't mean to, but you're with that Muggle-born all the time, and it's so _wrong_. I'm just trying to help you."

Andromeda laughed. "Help me? By making me miserable? You and I clearly have different definitions of the word 'help'." She tried pushing past him but his body was too wide and she was very small compared to him. Giving up, she glared at him and ordered him to move.

He looked deep in thought for a moment, and then moved. "Only because you'll have to act like my girlfriend in there." He shrugged, and beamed widely. Andromeda froze, her hand on the doorknob. A deep cough echoed throughout the stone hallway, and Andromeda turned to see Ted standing there, looking annoyed, and glowering at Rabastan.

"Rabastan," he nodded, his eyes narrowing further.

"Ted," Rabastan nodded, with a coy smile on his face.

"I'll be there in a minute," Meda said to Rabastan, her eyes wide with pleading to give her and Ted a few seconds alone. He stared at her for a moment, and then entered the office reluctantly. The minute the door shut, Andromeda ran into Ted's arms, burying her face in his chest.

"Hi," he laughed, holding her close.

"Hi," she said, though it came out muffled.

"You ok?" Ted asked, sounding really concerned. A muffled affirmation followed, and he chuckled. Another cough came, and the couple turned to see Professor Webb with one eyebrow raised at them. The two practically leaped apart, and turned bright red. "We were just… going inside," Ted said, pointing to the door and then entering the room.

Andromeda followed shortly, and had to sit in between Rabastan and Ted, much to her chagrin. Bella and Rodolphus were already in there, looking annoyed, as were Narcissa and Lucius. Professor Webb was, needless to say, incredibly confused. He handed out old, dilapidated books to the students. They looked disgusted.

"What's this?" Rodolphus asked, fingering the crumbling front cover, and tracing the word "Cinderella" with his forefinger. Bella didn't even touch it.

"It's something you're going to get to know and love very well," Professor Webb replied, looking smug that he knew something the others most certainly didn't.

"The Little Mermaid," Narcissa whispered, reading the title of her and Lucius' book. "What on earth…?" Professor Webb just smiled at her knowingly.

"Read the first words of the book, everyone, all together now," he instructed, and they all looked at him as if he had grown another head and sprouted a tail. Andromeda blew the dust off her book, and along with it, half of the pages. "The Swan Princess" was emblazoned on it in gold writing, still just about visible. She scrunched her nose up in disgust at the title.

"Once upon a time," all of them read in unison, not managing to utter another word before a slight feeling of dizziness flooded over them. A bright, pinkish light blinded them momentarily, and when it had faded they were no longer in Professor Webb's office, or in each other's company. In fact, they had no idea where on earth they were, but the truth is, they weren't actually anywhere on _this _earth.

* * *

Bellatrix awoke to find herself in a dingy old attic, lying in a creaky, decrepit bed. She felt around for her wand, but it was nowhere to be found. She cursed silently, and, creeping down the stairs, tried to remember every wand-less spell she could think of. None of them could do any satisfactory damage to another person, in Bella's eyes.

"CINDEREEEEELLA!" a shriek came, echoing through the house and startling Bella half to death. She leapt into the nearest room to hide there. "CINDEREEEEELLA!" the shriek came again, and the door was yanked open by a girl about Bella's age, but much, much uglier. Her hooked nose almost touched her lip, and warts were sprinkled all over her bright pink face. Her clearly dyed hair sat in a mess on top of her head, and, Bella couldn't help noticing, it resembled a dead animal. The most disconcerting thing, though, was that it smelled like one too. "There you are!" the girl screamed, even though she had found Bella.

"Me?" Bella replied, startled and scared. The girl rolled her huge brown eyes that practically popped out of her sockets. Bella couldn't tell if this was with rage, or simply how she normally looked.

"Yes you! I need you to tie up the back of my dress!" the girl ordered, and Bella couldn't help but comply. She tied up the back of the frilly blue and pink utterly hideous dress. "Tighter!" the girl ordered, but Bella could pull it no tighter. The girl wasn't exactly what you'd call… petite. Quite the contrary, Bella couldn't wrap her arms around the girl and make her fingers touch.

"It won't go any tighter!" Bella yelled, sighing and flopping down on the bed. It nearly collapsed underneath her. She hated to think what would've happened if the girl had flopped down onto the bed. The girl looked as if Bella had slapped her.

"Excuse me! But how dare you talk to me like that, I have half the mind to tell mother not to let you go to the ball! Of course, I could also convince her to let you go," the girl looked smug at her blackmailing proposal, but Bella had no idea what she was going on about.

"I don't want to go to any ball!" Bella cringed, images of thousands of women in frilly dresses matching the girl's, dancing around with posh, Muggle men. The Muggle-ness of it all was what made her cringe most, but the dresses came close second. The girl looked shocked, but composed her face.

"Fine! But if you're using… reverse p-sigh-coll-o-gee, on me then it won't work!" she replied, before making an overly dramatic exit. Bella immediately looked for a way to escape.

* * *

Narcissa found herself under water, but found she could breathe. Her blue and green scaly tail shimmered in the rays of light that penetrated the water. Her first instinct was to swim upwards, but when she found it incredibly easy, she noticed her tail. At first sight, she found it ugly, and disfiguring, especially where the scales fizzled out into skin. But after a while she noticed the way it shimmered, and how the blue in it matched her eyes perfectly. At the surface, Cissa looked around, and saw land not far off. It looked particularly inviting, as the patch of sky surrounding the land turned gold in the setting sun, and with nowhere to go, she started to swim towards it. A castle soon came into sight, and she felt elated, clambering up onto some rocks by the beach.

"Prince Lucius?" a man called, walking down the beach. Narcissa hid herself partially under the water, until she realised who the man was calling. _Lucius?_ She swam down the beach, searching the golden sand with her eyes, and there sat Lucius, skipping stones on the water. Narcissa couldn't help but laugh at the fact that all the stones just sank as soon as they touched the waves. She concealed herself as long as she could, finding that she felt extremely graceful as a mermaid. The mermaids in the lake at Hogwarts looked nothing like her, and certainly weren't as graceful. She only hoped that she could speak English above the water. As her head emerged above the breaking waves, Lucius jumped back a mile.

"FUCK!" he swore, and Narcissa burst out laughing again.

"You know, you're really bad at skipping stones?" she said in between her laughter, shaking her head at him. He rubbed his eyes and stared at her. Partly because all she had on her upper half was a skimpy bra made of shells. Her milky white skin was completely bare. This distracted him from thinking of a good comeback.

"Narcissa?" he asked, in disbelief. She pulled herself up onto the beach, revealing her tail. Lucius' eyes nearly popped out. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd slip on my mermaid tail and go for a swim," she said sarcastically. "What does it look like?!"

"Jeez, so-rry," he said, shaking himself out of it, and pretending he hadn't noticed the fact that she was half-naked.

"Now are you done drooling over me so maybe we could figure out how this happened?" Cissa said, inwardly smiling at the way he stared at her. This sparked Lucius.

"Yes, I am, now that you've opened your mouth and ruined it," he retorted. Narcissa rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, what are we going to do?" she asked, realising that she was practically relying on Lucius. It scared her, but she didn't exactly have her wand hidden in a pocket on her tail.

"Well, unfortunately, I _should_ turn you back into a human," Lucius replied, feeling around for his wand and swearing when he couldn't find it. Narcissa groaned.

"I like being a mermaid anyway," she said moodily. "As long as I don't look like the ones in the lake."

"Well," Lucius said, cocking his head to the side. "I wouldn't say _that_. Maybe if you scrunch your face up a bit." Narcissa scowled at him. "Like that! Perfect."

"You are the most insufferable, condescending…" Narcissa went on to call him every name under the sun. They sat there for quite a while as she recited them. Lucius just sat there grinning at her.

"Your body, however, doesn't look anything like theirs," he said thoughtfully, but with a cheeky grin, once she had finished. Her face almost turned purple, with anger and embarrassment.

"Prince Lucius?!" the voice came, getting louder as the man came closer.

"Prince?" Lucius and Narcissa said in unison, her voice disgusted and his delighted, yet confused. Cissa didn't find this hard to believe though, after all, she was a mermaid, it wasn't fair that she got to be something more interesting. She dived into the water gracefully and was reluctant to emerge.

"Meet me here at sunset, _Prince_," she whispered, before her head sunk beneath the gently lapping waves. Lucius whispered a half hearted affirmation as he watched the shadow beneath the water glide away, and then ran down the beach towards whoever was calling him.

Andromeda, Ted and Rabastan materialized right in the middle of a ball. Pastel coloured drapes hung from the high, domed ceiling, people in matching pastel suits and dresses danced around the room in a circular motion, making Meda dizzy, and ice sculptures in the shape of swans were dotted around the large room, amidst the mouth watering food. Hues of the lightest pinks, blues and yellows Meda had ever seen seemed to blend together in the form of the grand ballroom they were standing in.

"PRINCESS!" the dancers, spectators, and everybody else cheered as they spotted Andromeda. She felt like crawling into a hole and hiding, and Ted and Rabastan were equally confused. Meda forced a smile and waved at her fans, and noticed that she was wearing a dress not unlike the other girls in the room, but adorned with more jewels and frilled cloth. The boys were also dressed as weirdly as her.

"Why are they calling you princess?" Rabastan asked through gritted teeth and a fake smile, though he still looked impeccably handsome, especially in the Victorian style clothing.

"How should I know?" Meda retorted. She tapped on the shoulder of a passing boy and asked him, "Erm… why are they calling me princess?" He stared at her wide eyed, squeaked something incoherent and ran off. Andromeda sighed in frustration.

"Smooth move," Rabastan said. Ted scowled at him, but said nothing.

"What do we do now?" Meda asked, just as a group of giggling girls, her age and younger, in matching frilly dresses came and dragged her away.

"Oh my god," the oldest looking of the girls swooned. "As if you were talking to them without fainting!"

"Who?" Meda asked, confused.

"Prince Rabastan and Ted! The hottest brothers in the whole kingdom! Rabastan's your fiancée!" the oldest girl said, fanning herself with her hand and then looking at Meda jealously.

"Brothers?! Fiancée?!" Andromeda screeched. The girls eyed her suspiciously, and started to whisper about her. She couldn't have cared less. _Since when were Rabastan and Ted brothers?_ she thought.

"Yes, Princess. Are you feeling alright?" the girl touched Meda's head but she swatted her hand away. Not wanting to look like a fool again, she played along with being a princess.

"I'm fine," she murmured, still coming to terms with everything she'd learnt.

Later on, when the girl's wouldn't disappear, Andromeda snuck outside after distracting them by starting a discussion about which brother was hotter. She needed fresh air badly, but she wasn't the only one. Outside, the stars glittered brightly in the midnight blue sky that faded into purple on the horizon, the looming silhouette of the white castle stood behind her, and Meda was reminded of Hogwarts. She breathed in the fresh air, standing there on the marble balcony, basking in the glow of the full moon. Ted stood feet away from her, staring at her lovingly with his deep brown eyes. It was then that she noticed him, and nearly jumped half a mile.

"You scared me," she said, starting towards him when she recognized who it was. He chuckled, and she hugged him. He nestled his face in her black hair.

"I'm sorry," came his muffled reply. Andromeda sighed.

"Where are we?" she asked half heartedly, knowing he wouldn't know the answer.

"I don't know…" he replied, obviously annoyed at this fact. He shivered. "It's cold out here; do you want to go inside?"

"Yeah, you go in, I'll be there in a minute," Meda said, but he wrapped his red velvet waistcoat around her nonetheless. The dress she was wearing had material covering her arms, but they weren't exactly worthy of being called sleeves.

When Ted had gone inside, she walked up to the golden railings that separated her from a lengthy drop, and looked out over her "kingdom". She was practically like royalty in reality, but this was different. A large lake sat not too far from Meda, home to about a hundred gorgeous white swans, the starry sky and full moon reflected in its inky blue waters. She watched the swans prune themselves and drift along the lake effortlessly. Some of them were asleep, blissfully unaware of the ball going on inside. Andromeda envied them, and yawned, realising how tired_ she_ was, and it surprised her.

"Tired, fiancée dear?" Rabastan asked, behind her. Andromeda wished with all her heart that she was one of those swans and not herself at that moment. But she wasn't a swan, and she had to face Rabastan.

"Look, I thought pretending to be your girlfriend was bad, but this… this tops everything! I will never marry you, not in this world, or any other!" Meda snarled. Her voice echoed off the castle and out into space, alarming some of the swans who flew off into the night. Andromeda watched them disappear into the darkness with sadness. They had abandoned her.

"Well that's too bad," Rabastan replied, a lot more quietly. "Because our guests are leaving, _princess_, and this was our engagement party."

Andromeda fumed in silence for a moment, and stomped past Rabastan and back into the ballroom which was half empty. People bid her goodbye as she strolled across the room, but she ignored them. Ted was reluctantly getting into a carriage by another man, who claimed to be taking him back to his own castle. Meda caught up to him just as the carriage was pulling out.

"I'll be back as soon as I can!" he shouted from the window. The horses whinnied and ran faster, making the carriage rock. Everyone around Andromeda started whispering, but she ran back into the castle and up the first flight of stairs she could find.


	3. Chapter 3

Upon escaping, Bellatrix figured it wouldn't be long before the girl she had encountered in the house wanted her shoes to be laced up for her and noticed she was gone, so she headed for a crowded place. She ended up in the market place where the people looked relatively normal, albeit a little medieval. They were wearing horrible, brown, Muggle clothes, carrying quaint baskets filled with their groceries and selling apples from carts pulled by horses. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air and into Bella's nostrils, but the combined smell of horse manure that lay on the streets, put her off food completely. Bella knew she wasn't among witches and wizards, but still asked an old harmless looking man where she was.

"You're in the market place deary," he replied, flashing her a tooth-less smile. Bella didn't know whether she wanted to curse him more for stating the obvious or calling her _deary_. The thing that annoyed her infinitely more, though, was the fact that she _couldn't_ curse him.

After that she wandered around for a while, looking for any hint of magical activity. The people at the market obviously hadn't encountered people who wanted to be left alone a lot, as they stared and smiled at Bella incessantly. When one of them had the audacity to speak to her and try to sell her something, she nearly hit him. It was then that she spotted Rodolphus.

"Roddy!!" she yelled, running up to him. Usually she wouldn't have dared show such a public display of affection, but the mere sighting of a wizard relieved her considerably.

"Bella?" he asked, not half as excited to see her as she was to see him. His tone was more confused. She stopped just short of him and was panting hard. Everybody around them had stopped and was staring at Bella and Roddy. Thankfully a man trying to take advantage of this, shouting his offer of twelve apples a sixpence, distracted them long enough for Roddy to drag Bella into a nearby alley. Ironically it was the man Bella had nearly hit earlier.

"What's going on?" she asked, pulling her arm out of his grip. He shushed her.

"I don't know, but… I'm a prince," he said, with a serious face. Bella burst out laughing, tears streaming from her eyes.

"What?" she managed to say, despite her laughter. Rodolphus rolled his eyes and mumbled something about knowing this would happen. He sighed.

"Yes, I'm a prince, I don't know how and I don't know why. I won't be for long though, I'm not going back to that palace," he said, shuddering. The word "palace" finally made it sink in for Bella, and the green-eyed monster of jealousy emerged.

"Palace? I'm some sort of servant girl in an ugly Muggle house and you're a prince in a palace?" she screeched, scowling. It was Roddy's turn to laugh, but this was a bad idea as he was subsequently hit, very hard. Even without a wand, Bella can do serious damage to someone if they annoy her enough.

Once she had overcome her rage, Bella told Roddy what she had done before she met him in the market place. He tried his hardest not to laugh, but failed regularly, and with dire consequences. Then it was Roddy's turn to tell his story, and Bella was prepared for payback.

"It was horrible," Roddy started. "The king and queen kept pestering me to get married to one of these girls in frilly dresses who were throwing themselves over me, and not as pretty as you," he flashed Bella a smile, and she rolled her eyes.

"Continue," she simply said. He kissed her on the cheek, and then continued.

"This little fat man was inviting them all to some ball tomorrow night-"

"Ball?" Bella asked, remembering that the girl had assumed she'd wanted to go.

"Yes, I'd prefer it if you didn't interrupt me _deary_," he said, dragging out the last word and then laughing hysterically as Bella automatically reached for her wand and her face fell when she remembered she didn't have it.

"The girl in the frilly dress that I talked to said something about a ball, she assumed I wanted to go," Bella said, trying to contain her anger.

"Neither of us is going, we're getting out of this place," Roddy said, and Bella nodded in affirmation, her lips pursed with determination.

Suddenly, a myriad of shrieks and screams reached their ears, mixed with high pitched squeals of Roddy's name. The two whipped round to see a crowd of teenage girls, practically drooling, and staring straight at them, poised in a position to run from. Rodolphus and Bellatrix suddenly realised what the girls wanted, and ran the opposite way for their lives, out of the alley way and down a country road until they reached a forked path.

"This way!" Bella shouted, veering left, but by the time Roddy had heard her he was halfway down the other path, and it was far too late to turn back, as the girls were already following him. "Roddy?" Bella asked, slowing down. He didn't answer and she cursed wildly. "Fuck. What do I do now?!"

With nowhere to go, and not wanting to go back to that horrid house, Bella decided to visit the palace, and see whether Roddy would be there. It took a while, but eventually she made it to the palace steps, looking positively worse for wear.

"I'm here to see Rod- the Prince," Bella said, trying not to sound as if she wanted to murder everyone within a mile radius with the killing curse, just to make herself feel better. "Is he here?"

"Yes, but you may not see him," a pompous old man said, sticking his nose high in the air, as if he didn't like the fact that Bella was a lot taller than him. She straightened her back to annoy him further, plus it was rather funny watching him try and balance on his tiptoes.

"Why not?" she asked, trying her best to sound sweet and innocent. Her voice just came out nasal and squeaky. It sickened her.

"Commoners aren't allowed in the palace, I'm afraid, miss," he said, smiling as Bella grimaced at the way he called her a commoner. She had never been a commoner in her life, and she didn't want to start then.

"I am no commoner! I am Bellatrix Black, daughter of Cygnus Black," she announced proudly, hoping it would have some effect on the small man. He didn't even flinch, much to her chagrin. Bella could see she was getting nowhere with the dwarf doorman, and the palace was sealed off completely elsewhere. She decided to walk around the town more, and try to find another witch or wizard. They couldn't be the only ones in the town. _Who knows, Professor Webb could've trapped countless witches and wizards in his story books_, Bella thought. She also wondered what had happened to her sisters, and if they had their wands. She doubted it.

Whilst she mused, Bella wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. By the time she had realised where she was, Bella looked up to find the house she had escaped from earlier. A storm gathering overhead and the fierce wind biting at her hands and face forced her to knock on the door.

* * *

Narcissa was still reeling from her conversation with Lucius as she swam down into the dark depths of the ocean.

"_Yes, I am, now that you've opened your mouth."_

The words floated around in her head and brought a smile to her face.

"_You insufferable, condescending…"_

Then again, some of them didn't. Narcissa found it strangely easy to swim with a tail. As a human she couldn't even swim with legs. The grace and beauty of herself astounded her. As she pirouetted for what seemed like the hundredth time, a face flashed in front of her, and she panicked.

"Hello Princess," the woman said. Except, it wasn't a woman at all, or even a mermaid. She had the bottom of an octopus, or so it seemed. The eight tentacles swayed in the gentle current. The top half of the octopus-woman was, however, beautiful. Her long, raven black hair was spread out around her face in the water, framing it. Her lips were a deep red, and her eyes a strange shade of violet. It appeared as though she had a black leather corset on, moulded to her pale skin that rivalled Narcissa's.

"Are you talking to me?" Cissa asked, looking around. There was nothing but the dark blue abyss. The question sounded stupid the moment it left her lips. The octopus-woman laughed; her voice silky and lovelier than Narcissa's could ever sound.

"You are funny, Princess. What are you doing out on your own so early?" her violet eyes looked hungry for gossip. Narcissa was reluctant to answer, and when she didn't, the woman continued. "Oh, never mind, I know what you were doing. I overheard your conversation with the human prince. You two seem… close."

Narcissa blushed. "You were eavesdropping on us?" she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment with anger. The woman pretended to be taken aback at the accusation.

"I was merely passing by, Princess, I meant no harm," the woman said innocently, pouting her full, red lips. Cissa narrowed her eyes, and decided to change the subject. It made her feel in control of the situation.

"Why do you keep calling me princess?" she asked. Now the woman looked confused.

"You are the daughter of the King of the seven seas, Princess. Or have you forgotten that this will all be yours one day?" the woman asked, seemingly offended. Narcissa looked around at the emptiness surrounding them. She didn't see its appeal, quite frankly.

"Oh right," she said, laughing nervously. The woman eyed her with suspicion.

"What is it? Would you rather have your beloved prince on land than stay here and rule over all the oceans?" she asked suggestively, a plan brewing in her mind as she spoke. Narcissa saw Lucius' face, the beach, and his castle in her mind, and much rather preferred it to the lonely emptiness surrounding her, choking her. She nodded, staring at the sea floor that lay far below them. The woman beamed. "Come with me... I want to show you something."

"Erm… who are you?" Cissa asked, knowing she sounded lame.

"You can call me Sorceress," the woman said, swimming off in the direction of her lair. Cissa followed obediently behind her, wondering what a strange name she had.

As they arrived at an under-sea canyon, the Sorceress swam down, and Cissa's heart nearly leapt out of her mouth. The deep gorges looked as if they could swallow Hogwarts, and half the forbidden forest, whole, and the sharp black rocks looked like they could cut her arm clean off if she brushed past it. She swam down reluctantly, and they stopped at the peak of a huge mountain, outside the mouth of a dark cave. Narcissa stopped dead with fear.

"Get inside quick!" the Sorceress ordered impatiently. "Trust me; you do not want to stay out here." That was enough to get Cissa inside, and she didn't question the Sorceress.

Inside, dim lights lined the cave walls. Narcissa what the light was coming from, certainly not fire or electricity. The lights became brighter as they ventured deeper into the cave, and toward the Sorceress's home. Potions were stocked on shelves made out of rock, and weird creatures in bottles adorned the other walls. Something that looked like a bed was situated in the corner, and a cauldron, not unlike the ones at Hogwarts, sat in the middle of the room on a seaweed rug like the Sorceress' pet, welcoming it's mistress home. The water was warmer inside there.

"Home sweet home," the Sorceress said, laughing at her use of the cliché. Narcissa smiled half-heartedly at her, sitting down on the bed in the corner. "What's the matter?" she asked, sensing Cissa's discomfort. She didn't sound concerned though, more irritated and impatient, hoping Cissa hadn't grown a conscience or anything.

"Nothing," Cissa lied. The Sorceress raised one perfectly-shaped eyebrow. "What did you want to show me," she asked, not knowing if she wanted to hear the answer.

"This," the Sorceress said, holding up a vile of what looked like flesh coloured slime. Narcissa gulped hard and the Sorceress smiled. "It will change you into a human."

"What? How?" she asked, staring incredulously at the vile, but still with fear gripping at her throat like a noose, slowly getting tighter.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out," the Sorceress said in her smooth voice, as if she were singing every word and not speaking it. If Narcissa was a boy she would've thought the Sorceress was trying to seduce her.

"And… what about my father?" Cissa wanted to know, wondering whether the king of the sea was really like her father anyway. Still, it bothered her.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of him." The glint in the Sorceress' eyes made Cissa think otherwise. But, by convincing herself that the king wasn't really her father, Narcissa became apathetic towards him. She didn't know much about the Muggle fairytale she was in, but something told her this was supposed to happen. One thing was clear to Cissa though; Muggles have strange conceptions of mermaids. The thought nearly made her laugh as she sat on the Sorceress' bed.

"I don't know… I should really…" Narcissa started, almost saying she should consult with Lucius, "think about it."

The Sorceress' eyes narrowed, sensing Cissa's unease and almost feeding off it. "As you wish Princess… after all, it is your decision." And with that comment, in which there were detectable undertones of sarcasm, the Sorceress lead Narcissa out of the cave she called "home", and back out into the maze of gorges. Cissa was glad to be swimming away from it this time, and felt that she couldn't move fast enough. Looking back at them, the thought of returning daunted her.

* * *

Andromeda sat on the king-size bed with red silken sheets, layed out perfectly for her and Rabastan, staring at the intricate swirls on the mahogany floor, trying not to cry. Her fiancée emerged from the bathroom in nothing but boxers, water still dripping down his tanned body in the crevices of his six-pack developed from playing too much Quidditch, his dark brown hair all damp and dishevelled from being repeatedly towel-dried. Meda rolled her eyes and then narrowed them, as if immune to his looks.

"Put some clothes on," she ordered, throwing a pillow at him. He caught it with ease, and chuckled, throwing it back with exact precision, hitting Meda in the face. She scowled and climbed under the covers with her back to Rabastan. He climbed in after her. "Touch me and you're dead," she warned, making him chuckle again. "I mean it!"

"Don't worry, I'll keep my hands to myself," he said, covering himself with the red duvet.

"Wait… are you wearing clothes?" Meda asked, her eyes opening abruptly.

"Unfortunately… yes," Rabastan sighed. Andromeda resisted the urge to hit him, as it would mean having to touch him, and in that circumstance touching him was the last thing she wanted to do if it wasn't to kick him out of the bed.

"Good," she said moodily, closing her eyes again.

"Why? Are you disappointed?" he asked, almost breathing on her neck. She stayed rigid and cold towards him.

"No, I'm tired, now go to sleep," she ordered, hoping he'd obey, and get the message.

"As you wish…" Rabastan shrugged, turning over and going to sleep.

When Andromeda awoke in the morning, she found herself on the other side of the bed to where she had fallen asleep, but thankfully Rabastan was nowhere near her. He was sound asleep on the far side of the bed. Meda silently thanked god that it was a huge bed, and then got up. By the time she had emerged from the bathroom, Rabastan was up, and had a few more items of clothing on.

"Good morning!" he greeted her cheerily, his smile fading as she didn't reply. "What's the matter?"

"You," Meda said grumpily, not caring if she sounded like a five year old having a tantrum. If Sirius could see her he'd be in hysterics. "I want to see Ted."

"Well I'm afraid you can't," Rabastan replied. "Now eat breakfast," he said, pointing to the tray of delicious food on the bed. Andromeda scowled.

"I'm not hungry!" Her stomach betrayed her by growling at that exact moment and Rabastan pushed the tray closer to her. "I won't eat without Ted!" Rabastan sighed.

"Look, I'll find a way for us to get out of here but first, you have to eat," Rabastan said to Meda. "Deal?" Her hunger overpowered her and she ate the food willingly, until Ted came storming into the room.

"Ted!" Meda gasped, her mouth full of food. He smiled at her and then scowled at Rabastan, but nodded at him, looking not unlike Mr Darcy in his Victorian attire of a frilled shirt, black waistcoat, breeches and boots. Rabastan and Meda were still in their night clothes. She would've gotten up and hugged him if she wasn't busy drooling.

"Hi," he said breathlessly, his brown hair a mess as always atop his head, panting from climbing up the huge winding staircase that led to the bedroom. He strode over to them in a very Mr Darcy-like manner, his dark brown eyes as smouldering as the real thing. "I need to tell you something, I figured out where we are." When they were silent in anticipation he continued. "We're in a Muggle fairytale, I don't know which one exactly but-"

"The Swan Princess!" Andromeda yelled, her mouth now empty. "It was on the cover of the book," she explained, shrugging at the weird looks Rabastan and Ted gave her. Ted scowled into the middle distance.

"I don't know that one very well," he said, annoyed.

"I should hope not," Rabastan snorted. "It sounds gay." Andromeda raised an eyebrow at him.

"How do we get out of here?" she asked Ted, ignoring Rabastan.

"I don't know, wait 'til the story is over, I guess. I wonder where the main characters are though; we should stay away from them. We don't want to contaminate the story," Ted said, trailing off on a tangent.

"Speak for yourself," Rabastan jibed at Ted's last sentence. Both Meda and Ted glared at him.

"So we wait," Ted continued. They all sighed.

"Will you stay here?" Andromeda asked Ted, pouting and widening her eyes. Rabastan pretended to throw up.

"I don't know, apparently I'm holding some ball to try and find a wife," Ted shrugged, but Meda looked horrified.

"Good for you, Ted! Maybe we can have a joint wedding," Rabastan said delightedly. Andromeda stared daggers at him and he immediately stayed quiet, not meeting her gaze.

"But, you can't!" she moaned. Ted chuckled. "Why are you laughing? I'm failing to see how this is the least bit funny."

"Because, I'm not getting married to anyone," Ted comforted her. "And neither are you." Rabastan scowled. "Plus… your guards are trying to break down the door leading up here as we speak, so I'd better not stay."

"Impressive," Rabastan said, a hint of sarcasm detectable in his voice. "How are you going to get out, genius?"

"Ah, I was hoping you'd help," Ted said, smiling sheepishly at them. "Can you get me past them?" Meda sprang up immediately, grabbed Ted's hand and dragged him down the winding stone staircase. Before they reached the door, Ted stopped dead.

"What is it?" Andromeda asked, pulling at his arm.

"Just in case…I want to tell you something," he said, sounding very serious. Meda's eyebrow knitted together in confused.

"What do you mea-" Meda didn't get to finish her question because Ted was kissing her, like he had never kissed her before. It was gentle, yet filled with passion, and Andromeda could've sworn she heard an orchestra and fireworks go off in the background.

"I love you," he said breathlessly after breaking the kiss. Meda nearly had a heart attack.

"W-what?" she stammered, but Ted was already opening the barricaded door.


	4. Chapter 4

Rodolphus bounded up the marble stairs that led up to the palace moments before Bella arrived. His normally neat brown hair was a complete mess from hundreds of girls trying to grab it, his clothes were torn for the same reason, and he actually feared for his life; but at the same time he was immensely flattered. Bella had never showed as much affection for him in the countless years they had known each other as those girls who didn't even know him.

"Don't let anyone in!" Roddy told the man at the door, as he shut the huge wooden doors and sighed.

"Son!" a man and woman clad in matching hideously patterned robes exclaimed at the sight of Roddy. The King and Queen looked puzzled. "What happened?" They always were a bit oblivious to their son's sex appeal to half the female population.

"I'm fine," Roddy replied, waving a hand nonchalantly. He was just about ready to go collapse on his gigantic bed and sit in his elephant-sized bath for a good hour when he realised why the King and Queen were wearing their royal robes. Other royals had arrived, some to accept invitations and some to stay until the extravagant ball in a few days time. Roddy turned red as everyone stared at him. He bet he looked like a peasant with his messy hair and torn clothes, but still smiled and waved at his guests.

"I'll go get changed," he sighed and slumped off to his chamber and reluctantly pulled on the ridiculous costume he had to wear for such an occasion. It reminded him faintly of the hideous dress robes he once had to wear for the Yule Ball when he was in his third year at Hogwarts. He had hated them so much and tried transfiguring them, but it didn't work, unless Roddy preferred wearing a rat, and one of the professors ended up transforming them back so he could wear them. The memory made him cringe.

Once back in the palace foyer, Rodolphus was forced to mingle endlessly with the people who had come to see him, as his breeches rode up by the second. Most of them were young, beautiful (albeit Muggle) girls, and Roddy knew that Bella would fume if she saw him flirting with them, but then again, she wasn't there. The king and queen were, and they wanted Roddy to be married, potentially, to one of these girls. One girl, whose name Roddy didn't remember and whose face he wished he didn't remember, couldn't stop staring at his semi-bare chest. Another girl fainted when he greeted her, and although he was flattered, Roddy couldn't help but get frustrated by their feeble natures. He hated to think what they'd have done if he stripped his clothes off in the middle of the party, which he had actually done before on one occasion upon losing a bet with a fellow death eater. Needless to say, Bella wasn't impressed, but the rest of the female population of Hogwarts was… including some of the Professors.

As the King and Queen urged him to go and talk to a blonde, pouting princess making eyes at him, Roddy half-hoped she would faint as well so he could make a quick get away.

"Hello…" Roddy said extra-seductively. Surprisingly the blonde haired bimbo didn't even blink. Instead she smiled right back at him.

"Marissa," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. Her blue eyes stayed locked onto his, and away from his chest.

"Nice to meet you," he said, unnerved by her direct approach. He almost introduced himself when he realised she'd already know who he was. She smiled sweetly, her lips free from pouting for a few moments at least, and they remained in awkward silence.

"What do you say we go somewhere more private?" she said so softly, Roddy almost didn't hear it.

"What?" he asked, raising both eyebrows. She silently led him out of the foyer and into an empty hallway, then pressed her lips to his. Roddy was pleasantly surprised, and Marissa deepened the kiss, pressing her tight-waist and huge bust up against Roddy's form. Then he remembered Bella, and pulled away immediately. "Whoa," he breathed. "I can't do this," he said, more firmly. This time Marissa was really pouting… and frowning.

"Why not?" she asked, half sad, half angry. Roddy realised she was actually quite unattractive close-up, and putting his hands on her shoulders, pushed her away with ease. She opened her mouth to complain when he cut her off.

"Because I love someone else," Roddy said, making a mental note to tell Bella he loved her, as he suddenly felt a gush of affection for her. Marissa scowled, as if sensing this.

"Is she here?" she tried asking nonchalantly, though the jealousy was thick in her voice. She sounded like a man, and Roddy cringed.

"No," he said, part of him glad that Bella wasn't there and part of him upset. He suddenly realised how much he missed her, and felt guilty for cheating. Roddy knew she'd find out, she always found out everything. Bella had a way with people, and the Cruciatus curse. But she didn't have her wand, so Roddy was safe until they got back to the real world. If they ever got back.

"Well, she isn't a very good girlfriend then is she?" Marissa scoffed. When Roddy didn't answer her rhetorical question Marissa walked towards where they had left the party. "Your loss," she said, shrugging, before entering the palace foyer. Roddy smiled at her blatant lie.

***

"A little to the left… no, no, no! You're going to break it!" a gaunt old man that Lucius had learnt was named Grimsby was yelling at two burly men who looked like they could snap him in half. Lucius was laughing as they pushed and pulled a cloaked mass into the correct position on the swaying ship's deck. He was anxious to rip off the thick black cloak separating his eyes from whatever was beneath it. All he had been told was that it was apparently his birthday, and this was a gift from his parents, the King and Queen. Why they had to take him all the way out to sea to unveil it, Lucius wasn't quite certain. "Prince Lucius! There you are!" Grimsby exclaimed as he noticed Lucius when the he chuckled a bit too loud. He had decided he could very well get used to being referred to as a Prince. Grimsby started babbling on about something that he blocked out, and instead thought of Narcissa. She wouldn't call him Prince Lucius if she was paid to do so. The thought made him smile and then Grimsby ordered the unveiling of the statue and he snapped back to reality.

It was a statue of himself, carved by hand out of glistening rock that looked almost like ice. If it wasn't particularly warm outside then Lucius would've guessed it was. The god-like sculpture that he beheld had its hands on its hips, and its chest was almost completely bare. Lucius was slightly disturbed, but slightly delighted, to find that he was attracted to himself. The rest of the crew were staring at it in awe. Either that or their mouths were hanging open as they craned their necks to see the top, as it was about eight foot tall. The face was remarkably similar to Lucius', right down to the dimple he had in his left cheek. The only thing that irked him was the grey tinge the rock gave to his complexion. It was most unbecoming.

"Well…?" Grimsby asked. Lucius suddenly had the feeling that he was holding his breath the whole time.

"It's amazing," he replied. Grimsby sighed in relief. Light was fading fast, and with it, warmth. A huge orange semi-circle lay on the horizon, as if the other half of it was being devoured by the ocean. The sky faded from a vibrant pink into an inky blue, and Lucius sighed. The statue was fast becoming a frighteningly large shadow, and he cocked his head to the side, deciding he looked good silhouetted against the sunset. Sunset. Suddenly Lucius remembered Cissa's last words to him. _Meet me here at sunset, Prince_. "Can we get back to shore now?" Lucius asked Grimsby who was overlooked the two burly men from earlier unpacking a dozen boxes.

"Yes, Prince Lucius, after the fireworks display we shall head back to shore, are you not enjoying yourself?" Grimsby asked, alarmed at the mere thought of the Prince being unhappy. Lucius thought Grimsby badly needed a hobby, or a wife, and saw that there were fireworks in the boxes. It could be a while until they were all used up.

"No, I am," Lucius assured him. He looked around and saw wood everywhere; the whole ship was made of it. Letting off fireworks seemed careless, but Lucius didn't get to carry on his train of thought, because a bottle of what looked like Rum was thrust into his hand and he was ordered, for once, to drink to his heart's content. He obeyed.

Nightfall closed in fast, and twilight was upon them; the perfect time for fireworks. The first ones were set off, their screams deafening the crew, but their colours awing them. Green sparkles lit up the sky and everyone marvelled at them. Lucius was, though he hated to admit it, entertained by this Muggle past-time. The colours were beautiful against the already incredible backdrop. It seemed like a million fireworks had been set off when the sun was completely set and Lucius hated to think that Cissa would think he had stood her up. The display still wasn't over though, and everyone else seemed to be having more fun than him on his own birthday. Even though it wasn't his real birthday, technically, the thought still annoyed him. Back home his parents would've thrown a lavish party in their mansion, and girls would be fawning over him. Unfortunately there wasn't as much pleasant company on a ship full of men, even despite the fact that they were all completely drunk.

When one firework caught on the topmost point of the mast and burst into roaring flames, awe suddenly turned to alarm. One man shouted "Fire!" and Lucius was too frightened to care that he had most annoyingly stated the obvious. Men jumped off the ship, throwing themselves over the railings, and Lucius heard incessant splashing. He couldn't swim, and he repeated this in his head. Men were calling to him to jump. He looked overboard and saw a lifeboat waiting for him. He couldn't jump either, and the boat floated further away every second. Panic overwhelmed him, and any thoughts of Cissa were far from his mind as he felt the flames creep nearer behind him, scorching his back. Lucius clutched onto the wooden rails of the boat as if to stop them being consumed by the flames. Peering into the pitch black water there were no floatation devices, and sparks were starting to catch on his clothing. He felt blood drain from his face as he saw that there were more fireworks still in boxes, as flames licked them teasingly. That was enough to get him to jump.

The cold water made his skin sing as he plunged a good few meters below the surface. The crew were far away in their boats, but they watched the water eagerly for Lucius to resurface. The ripples faded, and then the boat exploded in a manner that any of the fireworks would've been jealous of. But, unlike celebratory fireworks, the explosion didn't bode well, and nothing dared to stir the surface of the water after that.

***

Upon Ted's departure, Rabastan decided he would like to explore his castle. Andromeda was in a glum sort of mood, and was avoiding him. As he wandered through cold stone corridors and up and down winding staircases, he thought of ways to win her heart. Unfortunately, most of them required the use of magic, like turning Ted into a toad, slipping Meda a love potion, or turning himself into Ted. The latter had popped into Rabastan's head randomly and he dismissed it as quickly as it came, too disgusted by the idea.

So far, Rabastan had found only a dusty, old library. The bookcases were as tall as Dragons, and he'd have had to climb a golden ladder to get to the topmost shelves. The ladders were dusty too, their golden colour worn away from neglect. The high, domed ceiling had painted on it, a scene consisting of angels and gods, frolicking in the clouds. Rabastan's neck hurt as he looked at it, and blood rushed to his head. Walking through the eerily quiet bookcases, the only sound coming from his shoes on the dirty marble floor that left marks in the dust, Rabastan noticed one book case that looked considerably cleaner than the others.

He ran his hands over the books, and no dust came off on his fingers. One book caught his eye; it was a deep blue colour with embossed gold calligraphy in some foreign language. It almost looked like the cover was made out of blue velvet. Rabastan was careful with it, not wanting to get sucked into another book. He tried pulling it out of the bookcase, but it didn't budge. He tried again and again until the muscles in his arm ached. Angry at it, Rabastan punched it, and it disappeared behind the bookcase, as if there was no wall behind it. Then the bookcase gave way too, swinging away from Rabastan and into the non-existent wall.

Rabastan stepped into the secret annex he had discovered, but a feeling of déjà vu washed over him like a breath of air, and he felt as if he had been there before. A room that didn't look unlike his potions class room lay before him. A giant cauldron sat like a sleeping animal in the middle of the room, emanating smoke, and coloured stained glass bottles filled countless shelves that lined the cobbled stone walls. Cobwebs decorated each corner, illuminated only by the fire that was squashed underneath the cauldron and cast a dim, orange light across the large square room. The wooden table looked like it had been hacked at countless times with a knife, and on it laid a yellowing, torn, dog-eared piece of parchment with what looked like a spell on it. No wizards or witches were present, and Rabastan felt that he had conjured up the room with his own superior magical ability. Written in intricate Edwardian handwriting were the words, _Swan Spell_, and instructions above an incantation:

_To bind a person to your hand_

_These words you must understand_

_To become a swan by daylight_

_And remain human throughout the night_

_Recite this spell for all to hear_

_Beware the consequences are severe_

_For this spell cannot be reversed_

_Without true love thou shalt be cursed_

Rabastan skimmed over the instructions, though they intrigued him enough to carry on reading.

_Pluma Incanto _

_Regina Verto Pluma_

_Genus Aurora Pluma Decedo_

_Absum Adamo_

Rabastan read it aloud, as instructed, his voice sounding alien to him as it bounced off the stone walls and back to his own ears in the form of an eerie echo. It made him realise he hadn't spoken in quite a while, his voice was slightly hoarse. He looked around for something to happen; a spark, a glimmer of light maybe. Nothing stirred, the only movement coming from the smoke spilling gently and silently over the rim of the cauldron. Rabastan stared at the piece of parchment, expecting it to do something. It just laid there like an ordinary piece of ancient, crumbling paper. Rabastan was annoyed. His feet were now covered completely with smoke. _So much for discovering a room full of magic_, he thought, scrunching up the paper and throwing it in the cauldron. Part of him still expected the cauldron to explode or something, with the power of the spell that was written on the parchment. It didn't, and Rabastan was further disappointed.

Walking back upstairs, Rabastan became more frustrated. He felt like annoying Andromeda to make himself feel better, and so he went straight to the bedroom, but Meda was nowhere to be found, and a beautiful white swan sat serenely on the bed.

***

Ted Tonks was rather disturbed to learn that his last name was no longer Tonks, but had been changed to Phillippe. His mother and father, the king and queen, were fussing over him, practically begging him to find a nice, humble princess and settle down. He didn't know which was more disturbing.

"Mother…" Ted said to the woman in front of him, clad in the most hideous royal robes he had ever seen. It felt weird, calling her mother, but nonetheless he tried reassuring the strange woman that he would find a wife. At least it would buy him time. "I will marry when the time is right."

She smiled at him, wrinkles forming on her face that looked like it was desperately clinging to all remnants of its youth. "As you wish, son."

Ted sighed, and ushered them out of his room, not wanting to start another "pep-talk" about marriage. He shuddered, knowing he would never complain about his real parents again. His room, however, could hardly be called a bedroom. It was more like a mini-palace. The giant monster of a four poster bed looked like it could eat his four poster bed back at Hogwarts, and still have enough room for seconds and dessert. The ceiling was as tall as some of the trees in the forbidden forest, and it could probably have housed half the forest anyway, plus the Whomping Willow. Ted's sigh echoed throughout the sparsely furnished room. He couldn't fathom how anyone could get a good night's sleep in there, and knew he certainly would not.

As for having a wife, Ted thought this world was crazy, like something out of a fairytale. He strained his mind all night to think how on earth, or not on earth, they could've been sucked into books. It wasn't as if he could sleep; not being able to see the other side of the room made Ted feel a bit uneasy. He felt as if he were in his first year at Hogwarts again, trying to come up with logical explanations for spells, and magic in general. He had learnt the hard way to just let it go and believe that it was just simply magic. Ted remembered how at first thinking "it's magic!" made him feel like a five year old watching an amateur magician pull a rabbit from a hat, but he soon overcame the feeling. Now the headaches, knots in his stomach and sleepless nights came flooding back. "_How?_" was the only word that echoed in his mind, like his tossing, turning and sighing did in the room around him.

The only thing that could distract him from this was thinking about Andromeda… but then that didn't take long to lead to the fact that he had left her with Rabastan, and that made his blood boil. He couldn't sleep knowing that she was sleeping with him, well, technically. He just hoped she wouldn't forget about him, and that his last words to her were enough to remind her of him whilst in bed with the youngest Lestrange brother.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where were you?!" a frighteningly similar shrill voice met Bella's ears as she entered the dark, dingy mansion.

"At the market," Bella answered back. But it was not the same girl she had encountered earlier. This one was slightly taller and a lot thinner, her physique resembling that of a skeleton. Her hair was matted in a brown mop atop her head, and her eyes matched her sister's. Bella tried not to laugh when she pictured the two side by side in her head.

"Mother!" the girl called immediately, her tiny lips becoming thinner with rage. Bella wondered if she even had any. The girl's nostrils were flared and Bella thought she resembled a horse. Suddenly she caught sight of a woman, of fairly normal size and shape, descending the stairs slowly. Her eyes were constantly in the shadows, even when her face was in the light, until she tilted her head up. It was then that Bella noticed that her face was thin and gaunt, as if she hadn't been eating properly, and her waist was too unnaturally tiny for a woman of her age. She reminded Bellatrix of her own, scary mother. "Cinderella was talking back to me," the girl said smugly, her lips reappearing momentarily before she smirked at Bella.

"Is that so?" the woman asked, raising her eyebrows so that deep wrinkles appeared in her forehead. Bella stared her directly in the eyes and the woman looked perplexed.

"She asked me a question, what else was I supposed to do?" Bella asked nobody in particular. The girl looked disgusted with Bella, who couldn't have cared less.

"She's lying!" the girl stated, as if her mother would believe her. Bella rolled her eyes and clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to shout "Avada Kedavra!" even though she had no wand.

"Yes, Beatrice, I think she is. We'll see how a trip to the cellar does her some good," the mother said. Beatrice laughed hysterically, the noise sounding like a cat being strangled. Her mother didn't seem to notice. Bella imagined herself stuck in a dirty cellar with rats, cobwebs, and most importantly: no wand.

"Cellar?" Bella asked. What she really wanted to say was, _Hell no_, but she managed to refrain, figuring it would only make the situation worse.

"Yes, it's where we keep liars and cheats in this house who don't appreciate all that we do for them," Beatrice's mother said. Bella didn't like the tone of her voice, and glared.

"I suppose this wouldn't be a good time to ask if I could go to the ball at the palace, then?" Bella said sarcastically. They seemed not to notice her sarcasm, and burst out laughing. Beatrice's mother laughed with a little more decorum than her daughter.

"My dear, why on earth would you think you could go to the ball?" the old woman asked her. Bella felt that telling them Rodolphus personally invited her wouldn't be a good idea. They wouldn't believe her if she told them, anyway.

"Why? _Can't_ I go? I thought the whole town was invited," Bella asked, knowing she'd go with or without their permission, somehow. Even without the use of a wand.

Until now, Bella hadn't fully appreciated her wand. She silently vowed that when she got it back she would treat it with the respect it deserved. Picturing it in her mind, Bella only missed it more. The warm feeling of it when it had been left in her robes for too long, the slender curves of the age lines in the clean, polished wood. The old woman's voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Well, you have work to do, my dear." Bella wished that the old woman would stop calling her "my dear". The word "work" almost made Bella choke on air.

"Work?" she echoed. "What work?" Bella could not picture herself doing work, unless, of course, it meant for Lord Voldemort. That kind of work she'd do for free.

"You have your chores," Beatrice cut in, loving the way Bella cringed at the C word. Chores were for house elves, or with the aid of a wand, but that was in the real world.

"Chores?" Bella said, mostly to herself. It made her miss her wand, and, though she hated to admit it, house elves.

"Do not repeat what we say," the woman snapped, "it is very rude. Now off to the cellar with you, maybe a few hours with the rats will teach you not to lie and repeat what people say!" Beatrice's mother ushered Bella towards a set of stairs leading down into pitch black darkness. The mere mention of Rats made something click in Bellatrix.

"_What_? No! I will not stay for one minute in a cellar full of rats!" Bella screamed, but the old woman grabbed her arm tight and shoved her down the staircase with extreme force, that surprised Bella. The cool stone wall met her face, and she swung around to see the door slam, and hear it be locked with a key from the other side.

"We shall let you out in a couple of hours," the woman said calmly, and Bella could picture her smoothing her dress, and removing Bella's skin from underneath her nails. Bella's anger had not nearly faded as much.

"Stupid old woman!!!" Bella yelled, banging on the door. Footsteps and laughter died away and Bella was left cursing thin, stuffy air, and panting heavily.

All was quiet, except for a symphony of tiny squeaking and tapping noises that erupted into the silence.

***

Narcissa was waiting, and shivering, in the darkness. Lucius was late, and she was furious. All light had faded, and only the stars and the sound of waves gently lapping at the shore comforted her. Sight had become irrelevant what seemed like hours ago, but Cissa couldn't hear anyone coming. She had run a million possible excuses that Lucius could have for standing her up through her head, but most of them seemed stupid and far fetched. In her frustration, Narcissa bet that princes in fairytales didn't stand their lovely princesses up.

Her fin still half-submerged, she lapped at the waves with it, cherishing the alien feeling of having a tail. She was watching it glimmer blue and green, and shine in the moonlight, momentarily distracting herself from her anger, when a very different kind of light was reflected into it, making it look as if it were on fire.

Looking up, Cissa saw the horizon suddenly light up fiercely with a red and orange glow. Then, as quickly as it came, it dimmed. Narcissa was intrigued. Fire on water? She had to go find out what it was. Anyway, it was evident Lucius wasn't going to show up. Narcissa dived spectacularly into the ocean and swam with amazing speed in the direction of the brightest part of the light. The feeling of the water changed as she approached it. No creatures swam beneath it; in fact, many were swimming away. The colour of the sea slowly turned red, as if all the blood in the world had been poured into it.

As Narcissa's head broke the surface, her eyes beheld a burning ship, barely recognisable anymore except as a burning mass of wood; a tiny speck of light in a sea of darkness. Lanterns glistened on the water far away, lifeboats carrying the surviving members of the crew. Cissa wondered how many were dead, when the sight of a body floating on a piece of driftwood caught her eye. He was unidentifiable from afar, and by the time she had gotten near enough to see who he was, he slipped from the chunk of the ship and into the blood red water. It was obvious he was still alive, because Cissa could hear his groans of pain, even over the roaring of the fire, but it was also obvious he was wounded, by the trickle of blood on his face and the fact that he hadn't enough energy to hold onto the driftwood.

Narcissa took a deep breath, momentarily forgetting that she could breathe underwater, and plunged under the surface, searching for the man. He looked like an angel in the sea, as if he could be a mermaid too. His white-blonde hair was floating around his peaceful face; his body was as graceful as hers in the water. It was a few moments before Narcissa realised who he was. The man drowning in front of her whilst she admired him was Lucius. She blanched, and thought it funny that this was the reason he had stood her up, until she realised she'd better save him. He wouldn't like being saved, but then again, she only had to deal with that when he regained consciousness.

And so, clutching onto Lucius' heavy body, trying to keep it in the water to make him easier to carry, and all the while trying to keep his head above the water so he could breathe, Narcissa swam him to shore in pitch black darkness, not knowing for sure whether she was going in the right direction. Waves lapped over Lucius' head, and Cissa wasn't even sure he was breathing. Strangely, they reached the exact same place that Cissa had been sitting at waiting for Lucius. Narcissa dragged herself up onto the damp beach, lying Lucius down on his back. She could hear gulls flying and screeching overhead, like vultures waiting for an animal to die, but they were the least of her worries. Lucius still wasn't breathing.

"Lucius," she hissed, close to his ear. He didn't stir. Narcissa's long wet hair clung to his face as she bent over him and attempted compressions. The last thing she wanted to do was resuscitate him with mouth-to-mouth. But as each second passed, and the gulls screeched, and the waves crashed, and Narcissa was panting, and Lucius still didn't seem to be breathing, the tension grew. She leant over him more, staring at his face, waiting for his blue eyes to open. When they didn't, Narcissa took a deep breath; tilted Lucius' head back, closed her eyes and slowly leant her face closer to his. A faint breeze tickled her lips, and her eyes snapped open, with barely a millimetre separating her lips from Lucius'. He groaned and muttered something inaudible.

"What? I can't hear you," Narcissa whispered frantically, frozen in hesitation, not daring to move.

"You're sitting on my hand," Lucius said, his voice strained. Narcissa looked down and saw, sure enough, her heavy tail on top of Lucius' hand. Once she moved it Lucius breathed in deeply as if she were cutting off his airways and not his circulation.

"Sorry!" she apologised. Lucius grumbled, sitting up. Cissa then hit him hard on his arm. When he yelped in pain, she explained. "That was for almost drowning, and scaring me half to death!" she said.

"Like it was _my_ fault I almost drowned," Lucius scoffed. Cissa glared at him, but her glaring ceased when he removed his torn, wet shirt and ripped it into shreds, wrapping the scraps of material around his wounds. He felt her gaze on him, looked up, and smiled cheekily at her. "Enjoying the view?" Cissa blanched again, and then frowned.

"No! You're doing it wrong," she lied, unravelling the cloth from his arm and tying it round again, but much tighter. Lucius winced, but didn't protest, knowing she'd only constrict his arm further. "There," she said in a sweet, innocent voice once she had finished. Lucius stared at her as if she were mad.

"It hurts more than it did without the bandage!" he complained. Narcissa rolled her eyes, and muttered something about him being a baby.

"If that's how you treat me after I saved your life, remind me not to do it again," Cissa said moodily, turning away from Lucius and folding her arms, waiting for a heartfelt apology from him. Lucius sighed.

"Thank you," he muttered reluctantly. Cissa smiled, she had wanted him to grovel, but this would do just fine.

"Sorry? I didn't hear you," she said, still facing away from him.

"Thank you!" he replied louder, scaring some nearby gulls, making them fly away into the night.

"For what?" Narcissa asked innocently, trying to keep herself from laughing. Lucius still saw her shoulders shake.

"Saving my life," he said. Narcissa beamed, and turned back around.

"You're welcome," she said cheerily. Then she remembered what she really wanted to talk to him about. "I found a way to become human."

"Really? How?" Lucius asked. The cold wind bit at their bare skin now the warmth-giving sun had gone down. Narcissa realised Lucius was wearing about as much cloth on his upper half as she was. They were both shivering.

"I met a sorceress," Cissa said, wondering how he'd react. Lucius took a moment to ponder whether he'd heard her right. Narcissa took his silence as an opportunity to explain to him everything from the moment she met a strange octopus woman up to when she was waiting for him.

"So… why didn't you get her to turn you into a human?" Lucius asked her.

"I don't know, the thought of being turned back into a human 20,000 leagues under the sea didn't seem very sensible to me," Cissa replied sarcastically. Lucius rolled his eyes.

"Well, go find her! Get her to turn you back," he ordered. Narcissa raised an eyebrow.

"I think being a prince has gone to your head, as surprising as that seems," she said, sarcasm still obvious in her tone.

"Just go find her so you can be human again, as much as I hate you, I think it'd be better for the both of us if you could actually walk on land," he rambled, but Narcissa wasn't listening after the first four words.

"What? Now? In the dark? You've got to be kidding me," Cissa asked him, wide eyed, abhorred that he would propose such a thing. "Can't I… stay in the palace? In the bathtub or something?"

"One little problem, whilst you're a mermaid, the palace chef will probably cut you up and serve you for dinner," Lucius told her teasingly.

"They eat mermaid?" she yelled, disgusted at the cannibalistic act.

"No, but they do eat a lot of fish," Lucius smiled. Cissa calmed down a bit.

"Fine, but I'm not going back to the Sorceress now, her lair creeped me out enough in daylight," Narcissa muttered, not caring whether Lucius heard her.

He wasn't listening though; he was staring blankly at her, taking in her milky white skin, the way her wet hair clung to her bare back, blending in with it because they were both remarkably similar colours. He didn't want to leave her alone on the beach.

"Is there any way I can help you? Find you a place to sleep?" he asked lamely, too exhausted to hide the fact that he cared.

"No… I'll be fine," she yawned in reply, too tired to notice that he cared.

Lucius bid her goodbye, and once he was gone she sat there for a few moments on the slippery rock, as the waves battered at it, trying to figure out where she should sleep. Afraid of what might lurk in the water whilst she slept, Narcissa made a comfortable bed for herself in some damp sand, hidden behind a rock, knowing that by morning, the tide will have come in over her head.

***

"What the fuck?" Rabastan said out loud, upon discovering a swan in his and Meda's bedroom. White feathers were all over the place, as if the swan had been going crazy; the sheets were mildly slashed, but now the swan sat calmly in the middle of the room, staring intensely at Rabastan. He wanted to call out for Andromeda, but his eyes were locked onto the swan's, and something made him think that maybe the swan _was_ Andromeda. A voice in his head told him he was being stupid, but then he noticed the closed window, and the open door to the ensuite bathroom that showed it was vacant. Where was Meda?

"Hello?" a small voice asked, from the other side of the door. Two knocks on the door followed. Rabastan's heart nearly came out of his mouth, and immediately he ushered the swan into the bathroom, tidied the sheets as best he could and opened the door just enough to poke his head around it.

"Yes?" he asked the maid, who was carrying a tray of what looked like breakfast.

"Erm, is the Princess hungry?" she asked in her tiny voice, curtsying at Rabastan. Her short curly brown hair bounced as she did so.

"No, sorry, she isn't, try again later," he said hurriedly, shutting the door in the poor girl's face. Upon glancing at the swan again, Rabastan started to panic. A thousand questions ran through his head, and he decided to go to the secret room he'd discovered earlier for answers.

Rabastan rifled through papers, with all sorts of weird and wonderful spells on them, like: _To turn a frog into a prince_. The thought of turning Ted into a frog seemed to appeal to him momentarily, before he remembered the Meda/Swan upstairs in their bedroom and the thought was cast from his mind. Looking at the labels on the stained glass bottles, Rabastan read some of them out loud, as if it would make them more believable.

"Eye of Newt… Essence of Salamander," Rabastan whispered, hoping it wouldn't have a magical effect on him, or Andromeda. Disgusted by their labelling, he put them down and wiped his hands on his clothes for extra measure. Then, running his hand through his hair to push the longer bits away from his face, Rabastan continued looking for the piece of paper he had read from on his previous visit. But it was as if it had disappeared into thin air. Instead, he came upon another piece of parchment that he almost kissed once he had found. Strangely enough, it was almost an instruction manual to the spell. As if the room had been waiting for him to return… knowing he would do so.

_The Swan Spell_

_In order to return what once was_

_Go to a body of water because_

_To undo the spell that was cast_

_To undo wrongs of the past_

_Place the swan onto the lake_

_Waiting for the moon to wake_

_The reflection of the moon_

_Will undo the spell so soon_

_The human being will return_

_So you need not have concern_

_But by the morning when dawn breaks_

_Repeated shall be your mistake_

_The human will become a swan_

_All traces of the human gone_

_To repeat the cycle once again_

_No matter how much you complain_

After getting over the cheesy rhyming of the poem, Rabastan groaned. He was slightly happy that Andromeda would become human again, if only for the night. But when she did become human again he was going to be in so much trouble. So much for winning her heart. The thought of calling Ted crossed his mind for a moment, until he realised he'd be in as much trouble with Ted. At least it would save Meda the job of killing him. Crumpling up the paper in his hand and shoving it in his pocket so it couldn't disappear, Rabastan set off to make sure the swan, Andromeda, was still there and hadn't flown away. If she had, he'd never be able to find her, and she'd never be human again.

The breakfast tray was abandoned outside the room, the tiny blue flowers wilting in their empty vase, as he barged in. The anxiety had overwhelmed him on the long trek through the palace up to his room, and he was ready to pull his hair out for fear the swan, Andromeda, wouldn't be there. The food reminded him he was hungry, and somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered what swans ate. Thankfully, it was still there, glaring at him in a way reminiscent of Meda. At least it further convinced him it _was_ Meda. Something about the way it was glaring at him, almost looking ready to pounce, and the way he had absolutely no idea what to do, made him send a letter to Ted, ordering his fastest horseman to go. Even though he had no idea how far away Ted lived.

"What have you done with her?" Ted asked once he had arrived, referring to Meda, his voice gruff. Rabastan rolled his eyes.

"Save the Prince Charming stuff for her, she's fine," Rabastan lied, with ease. Well it wasn't a total lie, she was fine. Just a swan.

"She better be," Ted muttered, only Rabastan couldn't hear. He was mentally bracing himself for Ted's reaction as they stopped outside the bed chamber.

"Ok… so maybe she isn't _totally_ fine, but she's still alive!" he said to Ted, who was glaring at him now. He figured if Ted and Meda ever got married they'd have very mean kids. Then he shoved the thought from his mind. "Just… you wouldn't believe me if I told you, so…" and then he opened the door to let Ted in. The reaction wasn't quite what Rabastan had hoped, or rather thought, it would be. Ted just stood there, staring at the swan, that wasn't glaring at _him_. Rabastan became miffed, but didn't let him overwhelm him. "Ted," he said, pointing to Ted, "Meda," he then pointed to the swan, and then repeated it the other way around, as if introducing the two. Ted did not appreciate this joke.

"What… the… hell?" Ted asked slowly, addressing the swan more than Rabastan. He didn't let it get to him though.

"Erm… surprise?" Rabastan said lamely. Ted didn't appreciate this joke either, and Rabastan wasn't expecting him to.

"She's a swan," Ted said, not asked. Rabastan nodded. "Do I want to know how?" Rabastan shook his head. "Right." Ted didn't complain.

Meanwhile the swan just sat there, and Ted and Rabastan couldn't figure out whether it was, or could, follow their conversation or not.


	6. Chapter 6

Bellatrix screamed out into the dark cellar, her voice echoing loudly, bounding off the walls in the small concrete room. She slumped down on what she hoped was a wooden box, pulling her feet up so the rats couldn't get to her. Fortunately, however, her scream had scared most of them away. The only sound was coming from the steady dripping of water from the ceiling, crashing into a puddle on the damp concrete floor. The only light was coming from a small square window, barely big enough for Bella's head to fit through. The wall around the small window was crumbling, falling into the pool with little splashing noises. The beam of light was dim and patchy, due to the water droplets pounding the window. It didn't cast enough light for her to see anything of consequence, and Bella sighed. She felt powerless, and starving her of power only made her crave it with more of a passion.

Bellatrix spent the night in the dark cellar, almost starving herself of food. When she awoke from an uncomfortable night on a wooden box, it looked like midday, as the beam of light was no longer streaming diagonally across the room, but could hardly be seen at all. She looked out of the window, standing on another box, all she could see was muddy ground. She sighed, aggravated by the fact that she was trapped like a rat. Even this analogy made her blood boil. Bella spent the rest of the day trapped, letting the anger and hatred fester underneath her skin.

The beam of light almost looked magical in the depressing room, but Bella knew it was only an illusion… her hunger clouding her sense and good judgement. Angry at the whole world, she wanted to punch the walls, or at least have something to hit them with.

That's when Bella noticed the sledge hammer by her feet, almost in the shadows, but not quite. Picking it up with disgust but admiration, her glance went towards the crumbling wall. Walking gingerly over to it, Bella sent the sledge hammer smashing into the wall. Bits of plaster and concrete hit her face, but Bella ignored them, hitting the wall harder the second time. The alarmed rats squeaked in fear and anxiety, but the sound of concrete on concrete drowned them out. Bella's arms throbbed, but she continued to flake bits of the wall of, until she could practically smell the outside. But the magic beam of light was completely misleading, because it was still dark and raining outside. Bella momentarily wondered how the beam could've been so light, lighter than outside. Then she realised she had better get out of the cellar, and so, she climbed up onto the wooden box and clambered up onto the muddy grass.

Suddenly it occurred to Bella there was nowhere else to go except the palace... and they would not let her into the ball in her current state. Figuring the two ugly girls and their mother would've gone to the ball by now, Bella snuck in through the servants' entrance unnoticed. One she had cleaned herself up in the kitchen sink, Bella brought herself to steal one of the sisters' dresses. Not because she was stealing, but because the dresses were beyond hideous. The fact that they were either two sizes too big or too small also didn't help. In the end she ended up settling for a less than flattering, but not too ugly dress that belonged to the mother of the two awkwardly shaped girls. Bella reminded herself that it'd have to do; even if Roddy would burst out laughing as soon as he saw her in it.

But as Bella was staring at some strange jewellery, she heard a screech dangerously close to her left ear. Sharply turning around, Bella saw the sisters, staring at her with intense outrage.

"What are you doing?!" the skinny girl screamed. Her sister seemed unfazed by the height of volume her sister reached, even though she was standing about a few yards away from her. Bella felt like her ear drums had split, and despite the funny image of the girls side by side earlier that Bella had in her head, the sight of them now did not bring her joy.

"What does it look like?" Bella snapped, trying not to think of how the larger girl could practically eat her whole.

"It looks like you're wearing my necklace!" the skinny girl replied, even though the necklace was just in Bella's hand. Then, walking up to her, she snatched it out of Bella's hand. The other girl walked up to Bella and ripped a strip of ribbon off her mother's dress.

"This is my ribbon!" she exclaimed, her mouth hanging agape. It was almost enough to make Bella vomit. If their dresses didn't cause her to gauge her own eyes out first.

"This is my ribbon!" her sister cried, snatching it. Bella saw this as an opportunity, and seized it.

"I took it from your drawer," she said, shrugging and pointing at the larger girl. The skinnier one gasped in horror, and stared at her sister accusingly. Their bickering managed to distract them long enough for Bella to creep across the room and slip out of the door; where she almost collided with the mother of the two girls. Despite her daughters' somewhat lacking intellect, she was not an easily fooled woman, nor one to be trifled with.

"What is going on in-" she said, stopping short when Bella emerged. Her eyes narrowed, and almost disappeared, when she noticed Bella's attire. "Well, well, well…" she began, and Bella tried not to punch her to the ground and jump over her crippled body. "I see you escaped," she continued. Bella had to stop herself from making a sarcastic comment along the lines of asking her whether she figured that out all on her own. "We'll have to see to it that doesn't happen again."

Bella didn't seem too alarmed; she could climb out of the cellar again, and this showed. But that wasn't where she was going to be put this time. The old woman was far too clever to do that. When the lady escorted, or rather dragged, Bella to a set of stairs leading up, Bella knew immediately that she would be locked in the place she first appeared in this horrid place. A spark of hope that it would take her back to Hogwarts lit up in her heart, but that hope was to be dashed when the attic looked as ordinary as it had when she first saw it.

After five minutes Bella knew she wasn't about to be transported back to Hogwarts any time soon, and that she had to find a way to escape. A sledge hammer lay in the corner, almost mocking her, as she couldn't use it in the attic. One look out of the window and the four storey drop below it into a dirty alleyway convinced her she couldn't jump. It reminded Bella of the time she had taken polyjuice potion to become a Gryffindor, and had gotten trapped in the girl's dormitories of the Gryffindor tower, unable to jump, but unable to walk through the common room once she had changed back into herself. Now she almost wished she was back in that predicament, but was still unsure which situation was worse.

The beam of light present in the cellar had appeared in the attic, and Bella found herself directing all her anger towards it.

"Look, just leave me alone ok?!" she yelled, then realised how desperate and deranged she had become. Putting her head between her knees, Bella breathed hard. Until a voice made her jump.

"Well if that's how you feel, I'll leave," the soft female voice said, hurt by Bella's outburst. Bella's head shot up, so much so that she became dizzy, and was unsure whether what she was seeing was, in fact, real.

"What?" she managed to utter, gradually letting the dizziness fade.

"Hello," the old, kind-looking woman asked, with a plastered smile on her face as if she had rehearsed this meeting. "I'm your fairy god-mother," she said, obviously waiting for a reaction out of Bella. Whatever reaction she was hoping for, she didn't get it, and the smile disappeared. "I said… I'm your fairy god-mother!" she snapped, and Bella knew the-old-kind-lady was just a façade. Another thing Bella knew was that the fair god-mother, or whatever she called herself, needed a wardrobe makeover. The baby-blue robe she was wearing looked like a tent; it did not have any shape to it at all.

"And?" Bella said, yawning, mostly for effect, and partly because she was tired. Spending the night on a wooden box had left her without much sleep. The fairy god-mother's face fell.

"Look, I'm just trying to help. Do you want to go to this ball and win the heart of the Prince or not girl?" she asked, waiting for an apology. Bella laughed.

"I already have his heart!" she said, in hysterics. When the woman in blue robes shot her an evil look, Bella sobered. "But yes… I would like to go to the ball," Bella added, wondering if the woman was some sort of witch, and trying to figure which school wore bright blue robes. Beuxbatons was the only magic that came to mind, but the woman didn't look or sound French, and they certainly weren't in France. The lady's smile returned, and she genuinely seemed jollier.

"Then we must change you out of those hideous clothes!" she exclaimed, and Bella couldn't help but agree. The old lady pulled a golden wand from her huge blue sleeve that resembled the ocean, at which Bella's eyes widened, and she felt real hope for the first time since she had appeared in this strange country, or world. It was then that Bella knew no matter who this woman was, a professor at Beuxbatons or not… she had to have that wand.

***

"I knew you would return," the Sorceress said, with her back to Narcissa as the latter entered the cave silently. Cissa tried ignoring this sixth sense.

"I- I've come to become a human," she said, trying to sound sure, but her voice broke and betrayed her.

"I know," replied the Sorceress in a cocky manner. Cissa eyed the potions, spells, and cauldron and wondered where the flesh-coloured slime in a vile that was supposed to turn her into a human had gone. The Sorceress held it up in her hand and said, "Looking for this?" Cissa gulped, and nodded, giving up on looking tough.

"Let's just get this over with," she whispered. The Sorceress laughed, and the water around her mouth vibrated.

"So eager," she said, mostly to herself. Cissa still nodded with a smile, though, but it didn't reach her eyes. The Sorceress moved to hand her the vile, but then refrained at the last second. "Ah, we haven't discussed the subject of payment yet Princess," she said, trying to sound innocent, but Cissa knew she had planned it to happen this way.

"What do I have that you could possibly want?" she asked the beautiful sea-creature. The only thing she didn't have that Cissa did was a tail, but then if she was a powerful Sorceress couldn't she transform herself?

"Well…" the Sorceress began, and suddenly Cissa knew the Sorceress knew exactly what she wanted all along. The water in the cave instantly got colder. "I wouldn't mind having that trident of your father's, but of course you can't supply that," the Sorceress continued, then pondered for a moment. "The only other thing _I_ can think of is… your tail."

A chill went through Narcissa's tail, but then she didn't really see much point in it going to waste if she was going to become human.

"Done," she said, ignoring the gut feeling she had that the Sorceress would double-cross her. There wasn't exactly any other way she could become human. The edges of the Sorceress' rouge lips curled up in a sinister smile, and she handed the vile over to Cissa. How she would get up to the surface, or swim to Lucius' palace, or any other questions didn't cross her mind as she drank the slime. Then it occurred to her, as the taste of meat filled her mouth and she tried not to gag, as her tail tingled with a different sort of sensation, and her vision became blurred. The water around her tail started to turn flesh-coloured too, and the green blur that was once her tail could not be seen at all. Panic overwhelmed her, but it was too late for that, because Narcissa was slipping slowly into unconsciousness, as she heard the Sorceress' mirthful laughter fade into the distance.

By the time she had awoken, it was dark, and Narcissa was washed up on the beach, a short stretch down the beach from Lucius' palace, with legs. Her head felt like it had been split in half, but this didn't distract her from the fact that she was naked. The sound of shifting sand alerted Cissa that someone was approaching. Unfortunately there was nothing to hide behind, so she slipped into the water silently. Her hair still stuck out though, the white-blonde tresses reflecting the moon and standing out considerably against the black inky water. Now that she was no longer a mermaid the water seemed a lot colder than it had before. Cissa blamed the weather though.

"Narcissa?" a familiar voice asked, sounding overjoyed, upon noticing the blonde hair. Her face flushed bright red, and she was glad that Lucius could not see it.

"Lucius!" she exclaimed in an alarmed tone, recoiling further into the freezing water to conceal her body as he approached.

"Where have you been?" he asked, still walking towards her.

"I went to see the Sorceress…" Cissa said, moving away from him.

"Well?" Lucius asked.

"She… made me human," she replied reluctantly.

"That's great!" Lucius said, confused by her behaviour though. "Why are you still in the water then?" Narcissa groped in her mind for something to say other than "I'm naked", but her mind was blank.

"I'm human," was all she said, but she knew that Lucius had caught on because his gaze shifted to anywhere but her, and an awkward silence enveloped them.

"Oh," Lucius said to the sky after a while. Cissa didn't say anything, shivering silently. "We better get you into the palace."

"Y-yeah," Cissa said, her teeth chattering too much to muster a sarcastic reply. Lucius took off his princely jacket and held it out, turning the other way to let Narcissa get up. As dark as it was, the moon was still pretty bright. All that he heard though was a series of splashing as Cissa got up, then a huge one as she collapsed back into the water. His head snapped around as Cissa yelped. "What the…?" Cissa asked herself, and tried once again to get up. Lucius looked away in respect again, but couldn't help but turn around when Cissa collapsed again. Wading into the shallows, holding the dry jacket above water, he asked her what was wrong.

"I can't walk!" she exclaimed, the panic evident in her voice. An overload of questions was flying around in her mind all at once. Had the Sorceress given her a faulty pair of legs? Had she forgotten how to walk just by being a mermaid for one day?

"Why not?" Lucius asked the sky, wondering how he'd help her up without, well, touching her.

"I don't know!" Cissa yelled. Lucius sighed and held out his hand, at which she hesitated, and then took it, pulling herself up his arm carefully. He winced as her nails dug into his arm, but didn't say anything. She held onto his shoulder to steady herself, and then tried grabbing the jacket to pull around herself, managing to balance herself as she did so. As soon as she let go of Lucius, though, her knees began to buckle, and he had to grab her waist to stop her from falling. Cissa's breath caught in her throat and the water around her feet suddenly got warmer.

"Do you want me to carry you?" he asked, breaking the silence. Cissa nodded, due to the fact that she was practically being carried by him already. He thought momentarily on whether to throw her over his shoulder, or carry her over-the-threshold bridal-style. He went with the latter, and Cissa's eyes widened as he picked her up like a bride and carried her out of the water and across the sand as if she were a sack filled with feathers and not a teenage girl. The journey was silent, and Cissa slowly felt that she could snake her arms around his neck to save him bearing all of her weight, though she had to stop herself playing with his soft hair that reminded her of her own, which she often stroked on a regular basis.

Needless to say, everyone in the palace was shocked when a half-wet Lucius brought in a soaking wet half-naked girl in his arms.

"Oh my!" the queen exclaimed, as everybody gathered round the pair. Servant girls whispered and stared at Cissa with jealousy, but she didn't care. One particular girl caught her eye; she was dressed better than the servant girls, but she was in her night clothes so it was hard to tell whether she was a princess or not.

"Lucius!" the well-dressed girl said. "Who is this?" the manner in which she spoke made it seem like Cissa wasn't in the room at all. Cissa didn't like that.

"I'm-" she began, but was cut off by Lucius.

"I found her, Narcissa, washed up on the beach, her ship must've sunk too, just like ours did," he said so smoothly it was hard not to believe him. Even if he said he saw a pig flying whilst he was out walking too, Cissa and the servant girls would've believed him in that tone of voice. The other girl, however, was not as easily persuaded.

"Well, why did you bring her here? Doesn't she belong in a brothel or somewhere?" the girl asked Lucius, who couldn't help but burst out laughing. This mad the girl suspicious, and Cissa turn bright red. A short, stout, blonde man who looked like the King acted like he hadn't heard the girl insult Cissa.

"Yes…" he mused, "these waters can be hazardous at night. Not to worry, we shall care for you here until you get back on your feet," he said, eyeing Lucius strangely as he still had Cissa in his arms. "So to speak," he chuckled. The rest of the room joined in with him, including the queen, who was a beautiful, tall, elegant, blonde woman. Cissa could understand how she could be mistaken for Lucius' mother… but the King, not so much.

"Really?" Cissa said innocently. "I would hate to impose…"

"Nonsense, think nothing of the sort," the King boomed in his deep voice. The well dressed girl in her night clothes looked annoyed, and Cissa was glad of it. "Besides, my daughter Lyanna needs a friend around the palace, I'm sure you'll be the best of friends," he continued, and Lyanna went bright red with outrage. Suddenly it dawned on Cissa that she was the princess… and Lucius' sister. Lyanna and Lucius, Cissa thought the names sounded nice together; obviously the King and Queen liked the letter L. But the thought of becoming friends with her didn't particularly appeal to Cissa.

Lyanna stormed off, and nobody seemed to notice or care. The King ordered that Narcissa be taken to the bed chamber next to Lyanna's, and that she should be cleaned up and given lots of beautiful dresses to wear. Lying in the bath, staring at her disabled feet, Cissa couldn't help but miss her tail. Lucius' shirt hung on the ornate shell-like hooks on the bathroom wall; it had served Cissa well and she wouldn't let the maids take it away to get rid of. She had just about got the hang of wiggling her toes when a maid came in with some night clothes for her. That night, Cissa had to admit that sleeping in a queen sized bed was much better than sleeping on the beach or underwater, even if she was still drowning, this time in layers of duvets, bed sheets and extra pillows given to her by the maids to ensure her comfort. Beams of moonlight streamed in from the exit to the balcony, but despite not remembering half of the day, Cissa found herself extremely tired, and couldn't bring herself to walk across the large room to explore the balcony. That night she dreamed of rolling waves and warm currents, tropical fish and mermaid tails, and what she imagined the view from her balcony was like.

***

Nightfall approached painfully slowly, as Ted and Rabastan tried to make small talk, but it was hard to do so in front of the swan they knew was Andromeda. By the time the sun had set and the moon was up, neither of them had uttered a word in hours.

"So… how does she change back?" Ted asked. Rabastan remembered the rhyme on the piece of paper he had found, that said something about a lake.

"I think we have to take it, I mean her, to the lake," he said, trying to figure out how to carry a swan outside. Meda he could carry fine, but he wondered whether now she had wings that maybe she'd fly off. But ever since Ted arrived she had been calm, almost looking like one of the ice swans featured in the ball the night before.

"How?" Ted asked. Rabastan was getting tired of answering Ted's questions, but didn't let it show. He pinched his bridge to stop the headache he could feel coming on.

"I don't know," he replied, trying to mask the annoyance his voice wanted desperately to drip with.

Half an hour later, when the moon was full in the purple sky, and half of the swans were asleep on the lake, Ted and Rabastan had managed to coax Andromeda outside. She seemed happy enough to glide on the water, but soon got lost amidst the crowd of other swans. Nothing happened. The two boys waited, trying to distinguish Meda.

When the moon was sufficiently high in the sky, and reflected directly in the water, one of the swans started glowing. Ted shoved Rabastan, who had almost fallen asleep, and he was startled to see the golden coloured water rise up over the swan, and swirl around it like some sort of water-tornado. Inside the vortex, masked from Ted and Rabastan, the swan began to transform back into a human. It was not a painful procedure, but it was definitely not a pleasant experience for Meda. The vortex disappeared much more quickly than it had come, and as soon as Meda found her human voice again, she screamed, falling back into the water. Rabastan was now very much awake, but it was Ted who ran into the water without a moment's hesitation. By the time Rabastan had moved, Ted was carrying Meda out of the water. She jumped out of his arms immediately once on dry land and punched Rabastan in the face.

"What was that for?!" he demanded to know; moving his jaw around to make sure it wasn't dislocated. Ted was trying not to laugh, watching on the side lines.

"For turning me into a swan!" Meda berated, dripping wet. The mere act of punching Rabastan had left his face soaking wet.

"It wasn't my fault!" he exclaimed, almost fearing for his life. Meda had obviously been bottling this up for hours. He didn't know whether she could've done more damage to him as a swan or as a human, and he didn't want to find out.

"Oh, right, I suppose I've suddenly become an animagus or something," Meda said sarcastically. Ted had lost control and was laughing loudly. Rabastan ignored him.

"I don't know, maybe…" he said, shrugging and wondering if he had turned her into some weird sort of animagus. One look from Meda silenced him and stopped his train of thought. "I found a secret room," he said, trying to change the subject. Meda was trying to pretend not to be interested and stay mad at Rabastan.

"And?"

"That's where I found the spell that turned you into a swan," he said proudly. Andromeda was not impressed.

"Oh, so you just thought you'd read the spell out loud?" she said, failing to keep her voice at a normal pitch and volume. "Didn't the five years you've been at Hogwarts teach you anything?"

"Maybe we can reverse it," Ted said, stepping in reluctantly to prevent any more bodily harm coming to Rabastan from Meda. As much as he hated him, nobody deserved that in his opinion. "Show us the room."

Rabastan nodded and half-ran in front of Ted and Meda to the secret annex. Once there, Andromeda hardly touched anything, and made sure the other two didn't either.

"Don't touch anything!" she berated, slapping Ted's hand as he reached for the "Essence of Salamander" bottle. Ted snatched his hand back and rubbed it where she had struck him. Rabastan rolled his eyes.

"It's ok," he said, hoping to calm Meda down.

"Easy for you to say," she scoffed.

They found nothing of consequence in the secret room, and every labelled vile meant nothing to them. They had never worked with such strange magic before, and whether it even existed in the real world they didn't know.

As the sun rose, and the three slept in Meda and Rabastan's room, all in the bed, with Ted in between the allegedly engaged couple, rays of sunlight streamed through the east-facing double doors that led out onto a balcony. As they fell on Meda's sleeping form, she turned back into a swan. When Rabastan and Ted awoke they found her nestling in the sheets. A knock on the door woke her up though.

"Princess Andromeda?" a voice sang. Alarm bells rang in Ted and Rabastan's heads. They opened the double doors, and begged a reluctant swan to fly out of them. After much shunning, shoving and shooing, the swan sat on the balcony and they pulled the thin curtains shut. It didn't occur to Ted that he should hide as well.

"Yes?" they asked the woman outside the door, dressed in luxurious silks. She regarded them strangely.

"I was looking for my daughter," she said. It dawned on the boys that she was the fairytale's queen.

"Oh," they said, only their heads poking around the door. "Well, Andromeda just went for an early morning… stroll. She'll be back soon."

"Oh, ok. If you don't mind me asking, when did you arrive Prince Ted? I do believe I didn't hear of your arrival," she asked, baffled. Ted's eyes widened, and Rabastan nudged him.

"I… came here early, at Rabastan's request," he said, telling the truth, just not all of it. Ted never was good at flat out lying. "He wanted …"

"To ask him to be my best man," Rabastan finished. The Queen looked thrilled. "for mine and Andromeda's wedding." Ted, however, did not.

"Oh! That is wonderful," she chimed.

"Yes, it is," Rabastan smiled. But before she or Ted could say anything else, he shut the door politely in her face.

"What was that about?" Ted asked angrily. Rabastan smiled at him.

"To convince the queen, don't worry about it," he said nonchalantly. Ted didn't look persuaded, but followed Rabastan out onto the balcony. "We need a plan," Rabastan said.

"Way to point out the obvious," Ted muttered, but Rabastan didn't hear him.


	7. Chapter 7

Bellatrix found herself on her way to the ball in a circular white and silver carriage, transfigured from a pumpkin. She didn't mean to transfigure it; it did it of its own accord, as if the crazy old lady Bella had stolen the wand from was still controlling it. Bella thought that was silly though. The killing curse didn't work with the wand, but she still hadn't left the old lady with any possibility of being followed by her. She smiled coyly to herself at the memory. It was as if she had been drained of all magic, power and life, like going cold turkey, but now she had her fix, and was feeling alive again.

The roads were bumpy, and the carriage jumped up every so often, racking Bella around inside the ornate white circular cage that looked like it was made from ivory. The third time she had tried to cast a spell; a dress had appeared on Bella's form, white like the carriage, and made of gorgeous silk and satin. The white corset made her waist feel tiny, and her chest huge, and the hoop skirt was so large that Bella was having a hard time sitting down in the carriage. Shining glass slippers appeared on her feet too, almost invisible unless seen closely. They soon felt like ice blocks on her feet in the cool night air. Footmen and the carriage driver appeared when Bella tried to remove the dress with the wand. They were transfigured out of mice, and a decrepit old dog, and Bella saw that they still retained some of their animal instincts, as the carriage driver, or dog, scratched himself every so often. Bella had tried talking to them, but they just stared at her and blinked, as they would've done if they were animals. It was most aggravating for her, and the fact that the killing curse didn't work either, didn't make her feel any better.

The moon was full in the sky, resembling the circular white carriage, and the stars were all out as well, thousands of tiny diamonds like the ones showered onto Bella's dress. When she arrived at the palace, the carriage disappeared around a corner, and Bella never saw it again. She was glad to be rid of the animagus men. Climbing up the marble steps, Bellatrix turned every head her way. Even dwarfed against the marvellous white marble castle that was lit up against the dark sky, and resembling the moon on earth, Bellatrix had every person captivated by her. She smiled again and continued up the steps. She had always liked feeling like royalty. Once at the top the same man who dared to call her a commoner the day before did not recognise her. He too was marvelled by her beauty, the way her face was accentuated by the fact that her dark hair was up in a tight bun atop her head, how her cheekbones and bare shoulders were highlighted with silver glitter, adding to the paleness of her ivory skin that rivalled the carriage she rode in and even her dress. Her violet eyes looked at him from underneath her luscious black eyelashes, quite a feat considering he was about half her size, and he let her in without even asking her name or checking to see if she was on the guest list. Everyone on the stairs was mesmerized for a good while, even after she had passed them all by.

The same thing happened once she was inside, but on a much larger scale. The ballroom was down a flight of stairs from the entrance, so everyone in the room saw Bellatrix at the same time as she entered, as if she had blown a fog horn to attract their attention. Only, Bella entered silently, but still every eye in the house was on her. She ignored the Muggles, and looked around for Roddy. If her eyes landed on a male Muggle, his heart beat would hasten, and his hopes would rise higher than the sky, until her eyes skimmed past him and he felt that he would never love again. Bella felt like laughing evilly, and she would've if the room were not so silent that she could've heard a pin drop on the crazily expensive gold and marble dance floor. The King and Queen were immediately recognisable, sitting on their gold and red thrones. A red carpet was rolled out in front of them, and a queue of girls was standing, waiting to hopefully beguile their future in-laws. They stepped out of the way reluctantly for Bellatrix, sending bitchy vibes as she walked down the red carpet like a celebrity.

"Your majesty, your grace," Bella curtsied in front of the King and Queen. They looked impressed.

"Who are you, my dear?" the Queen asked, in her silky voice that made her seem a lovely woman.

"I'm Bella," she answered, looking up through her eyelashes again. It was a trick she had perfected.

"Well," the King said, shifting his weight and clearing his throat. Bella smiled dazzlingly for extra measure and she could've sworn she heard some of the girls behind her cough, though how they could see her smile, she didn't know. "It's nice to meet you my dear."

Bella curtsied again, and turned around to find Roddy, who was at the mercy of a poor girl trying, in vain, to keep him from noticing Bella. She was draped in his limp, reluctant arms, and even though she was talking animatedly to him, Roddy's head was looking in Bella's direction. When he smiled at her, the girl gave up and ran off, half-crying. Bella felt no sympathy.

"What took you so long?" Roddy whispered, bowing in front of her. He then held out his hand, as if asking her to dance.

"I couldn't figure out what to wear," Bella said sarcastically, laughing as she took his hand. As Roddy and Bella twirled around on the dance floor, everyone stood around, hypnotised by the beautiful couple. That or they were blinded by the diamonds on Bella's dress reflecting the light of the magnificent long chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling and almost touching the floor.

"You look amazing," he said to her whilst they danced. Bella laughed again, a hint of mirth detectable in her laughter, as always. It never sounded like joyful laughter.

"I know," she said arrogantly. Roddy rolled his eyes, but was smiling. "I found a wand," she whispered to him. His smile faded.

"What?" he asked, a little too loudly. Some people in the audience stirred.

"I found a wand," Bella repeated. "But it doesn't work properly," she said, before Roddy could suggest anything.

"What do you mean?" he asked, quieter this time. "Where is it?" Bella sighed; she knew he was eager, but his questions were annoying her.

"It's…" she started. "Never mind." Roddy had images of the wand stuck in a garter around her leg in his head, but Bella's next sentence snapped him out of his reverie. "But the killing curse doesn't work with it."

Roddy grimaced. He wasn't as bloodthirsty as Bella, but he knew her well enough to know that she would kill every Muggle in here without hesitation if she could.

"What are we going to do with it then?" Roddy asked, not really knowing whether he wanted to hear the answer.

But he didn't get to hear the answer, because the song was finished, and a flood of girls waiting to steal Roddy from Bella ran over to him, pushing her out of the way.

***

Narcissa awoke in her grand palace room to find a face inches from hers. She screamed, and the face jumped back. Despite her immediate thoughts, it was not Lucius' face inches from Cissa's. It was Lyanna's.

"Wakey wakey," she said with a fake smile. Cissa knew it was fake because she had perfected the fake smile. Her face remained blank. "Ok, I'm not here to wake you," Lyanna continued. "You're my new lady in waiting."

"What?" Cissa asked, hoping she was still dreaming.

"Mine's gone and got pregnant, I found out last night," Lyanna said slowly, as if just because Cissa wasn't a princess, not of land anyway, she couldn't understand English.

"And what does that have to do with me?" Cissa asked. She didn't mean it to sound spiteful, but that's how it came out.

"Well, daddy thinks it'd be a better way for us to… bond," Lyanna said, finding it hard to say "bond". Cissa looked at Lyanna, who was already dressed, in the finest blue and purple silks, and had her hair braided into a long, thick white-blonde plait. Her eyes looked pleading, and it was obvious she didn't want to disappoint her father. Two words that came to Cissa's mind were "daddy's girl".

"Ok," was all Narcissa said. Then she pulled the covers over her head and tried to let the sound of the waves outside her window lull her to sleep. It was still slightly dark, but Lyanna wasn't having Cissa go back to sleep.

"Come on then! Time to get up; we've got lots to do. You don't have any clothes!" Lyanna exclaimed, as if it was a fate worse than death.

"So?" came Cissa's muffled reply from under the covers. Lyanna sighed exasperatedly.

"We need to go shopping!" she exclaimed, throwing the covers off of a sleepy Narcissa.

"Not now," Cissa groaned. But she was saved from Lyanna when the door opened and Lucius entered, looking as handsome as ever.

"Lyanna, Dad wants you," he said smoothly, as if Lyanna was actually his sister and the King was his real father. Lyanna skipped out of the room, her plait swinging behind her.

"Thanks," Cissa said, pulling the covers over her body again.

"No problem," Lucius said. Silence ensued, and Cissa realised she probably wouldn't get back to sleep. So, pulling the covers with her, Cissa threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. It was an improvement from last night, but as soon as she took a step, Cissa stumbled. Lucius wasn't quick enough to catch her and she fell, muttering angrily to herself.

"Why can't I walk?" she asked nobody.

"I don't know," Lucius answered. Cissa sent him a berating glare. "Why don't I teach you to walk?" he asked in an attempt to save himself.

"How are you going to do that?" she asked, images of her falling and dragging him down with her flashed through her mind. She shuddered. "I'd injure us both."

"We could go to the beach, the sand is soft," he said. Cissa had to admit it was a good idea, though she didn't know if she wanted to walk, after Lyanna was talking about shopping.

"Fine," she answered. Lucius held out his hand to help her up. Cissa took it, and he half-carried her to the beach, receiving many curious glances, and procuring a few minor injuries, on the way there.

"Just put your arm around me!" Cissa yelled when they were out of the kitchens and away from the servants. She was fed up of slipping all over the place and needed something to hold onto. To Lucius, she just sounded bossy.

"Yes your highness," he sighed, holding onto her waist. They remained in silence after that, with Cissa concentrating on trying to walk and Lucius concentrating on not dropping her.

"Right," Lucius said, once at the beach. He stood in front of her and held both her hands. "Take small steps towards me."

She obeyed, letting her feet sink into the sand, letting it in between her toes, massaging her feet. The smell of salt in the air filled her nostrils, as she stared at her feet in concentration. In truth, she was hardly taking steps, but shuffling her feet through the sand. It was a start, though.

"Good," Lucius whispered, and only when Narcissa's head snapped up did she realise how close he was. However, as her head came up she almost it his jaw. He breathed in sharply and pulled his head back.

"Sorry!" Cissa exclaimed, letting go of his hands and putting them over her mouth. Unfortunately, by doing that, she fell onto the sand with a thump. "I told you I'd injure us both," she said sheepishly. Lucius laughed.

"Get up," he chuckled. Narcissa was confused.

"But I almost dislocated your jaw," she said. It wasn't that much of a big deal, but Cissa knew she could do worse things.

"So? Come on, let's try again," he said, and to be honest, Cissa couldn't say no.

So she got up, and tried shuffling her feet through the sand again. This time, she didn't look up, but she knew how close Lucius' face was. Almost as close as Lyanna's was earlier.

"Now try actually taking steps," Lucius said after a while. Cissa cursed silently, but obeyed.

Her hands had become sweaty holding onto Lucius' so long, and she prayed he wouldn't notice. It had made it harder for him to grip her hands though.

Cissa took a deep breath and picked her foot up. The shifty sand made it hard, but after a while, she was taking proper steps. They didn't know how long they'd been at the beach for, but it had definitely been hours, as by the time Cissa could sufficiently walk the sun was high in the sky. They had to stop walking when the sun-baked sand got too hot. Instead they sat on the damp sand, letting the waves wash over their legs. Cissa was still in her night clothes, borrowed from Lyanna, but she couldn't care less. The sea looked beautiful, and she was actually glad to be sitting on the beach with Lucius. She couldn't explain it, though.

His fingers were playing with the damp sand, making mini sand-lumps with it. Cissa was watching him, until he looked up and smiled at her. She immediately shifted her gaze to the ocean. Lucius still smiled.

"Don't you want to get changed?" he asked. Her eyes remained on the sea, but she cringed.

"Not if it means wearing Lyanna's clothing," she said. Lucius chuckled. Cissa was mesmerized by the waves. "Where are we?" she asked. It disconcerted her that she had just joked about Lyanna, when Lyanna wasn't even real, none of what she saw before her was real. It almost made her head hurt.

Lucius didn't bother answering. He knew she knew that he didn't know. There was no point in repeating what he'd said a thousand times.

"Will we ever get back to the real world?" she asked, tears nearly welling up in her eyes. But Lucius didn't get a chance to see them, because Lyanna came running down from the palace.

"Lucius!" she called. Cissa hoped her name wouldn't be called next, but it was. "Narcissa!" Lyanna arrived out of breath.

"Yes?" Lucius asked.

"Time to go shopping!" she exclaimed, and at that moment Narcissa wished the sand would open up beneath her and eat her whole.

***

The next day was spent keeping people away from Andromeda's swan form. Ted and Rabastan were yelled at, whispered about, and found themselves subject to many rumours. They couldn't assure people enough that Meda would be there for her wedding, and that she had not gotten cold feet, which was ironic considering she was a swan. Ted found it hard to assure people she would definitely be marrying Rabastan, though he got by. Rabastan was extremely smug.

"Don't worry; she can't keep away from me!" Rabastan assured the King. Ted muttered a sarcastic affirmation to himself.

"Sure," Ted added, for Rabastan to hear.

"What are we going to do about her?" Rabastan asked him, ignoring his sarcastic comment. He was feeling too smug already.

"Me? You're the one that did this to her," Ted said.

"So, we're supposed to get married during the day, I'm not marrying a swan!" Rabastan retorted. Ted didn't see his point.

"Oh, well then I guess the wedding will have to be called off," he said, with fake disappointment.

"Don't be like that, it's just fake," Rabastan said truthfully. He did think it was fake, but he still couldn't pass up the opportunity of "marrying" Meda.

"Still," Ted said moodily. The swan flapped about on the balcony, and the boys went outside. However, they were pushed back inside the room when Meda's wings unfolded and the wind she created felt like a hurricane. Moments later, Meda had half-flew, half-glided down to the lake to join the other swans. Ted and Rabastan ran out on the balcony, dumb-founded.

"How did she do that?" Rabastan asked, impressed. Before Ted could work up a sarcastic comment though, he silenced him. "Don't answer that."

"We'd better leave her there for the day, whilst we sort things out," Ted said, not really caring whether Rabastan agreed or not though. "It'd look stupid if we carried a swan around with us all day." Rabastan nodded solemnly.

Unfortunately, somebody had seen the swan fly down from the balcony.

"Masters!" a short, stout man called to the pair as they descended from the room. "Is Princess Andromeda up there? I just saw a swan fly down from your room, is everything alright?" he asked. Ted was caught off guard, and so Rabastan replied.

"Yes, it was an early wedding present for her, but it escaped. It'll be happier on the lake anyway," he said smoothly, keeping eye contact with the man to ensure he was convinced. "She's ill, unfortunately. No visitors," he continued. The man dared not to ask otherwise, nodding, whilst keeping eye contact with Rabastan. Ted laughed at Rabastan's power over him.

"Yes, of course, I'll tell everyone," he stuttered, running off down a hallway.

Rabastan and Ted sat around by the lake for a while, watching the swans, and silently trying to figure out which one was Meda, until the Queen came out and ushered them inside. The rest of the day was spent drowning in frills and lace of different colours, being bombarded with questions about which one to adorn the walls and tables with. It was a frightening ordeal for the both of them. By sundown, they were practically running out of the castle, partly to get away from it all, and partly because they were late for Meda's transformation. The hard thing was making sure nobody saw it happen.

"Ugh," Meda groaned, once human, "I don't know if I can go through that again."

"What's wrong," Ted asked, helping her out of the water. The sun went down strangely fast, and the last remnants of the bright red sunset were disappearing into the horizon. Rabastan rolled his eyes.

"It's being a swan, I eat anything," Meda said, shuddering. Ted didn't want to ask her what she meant by "anything".

"Andromeda!" the Queen sang from the castle's garden doors. "Oh Andromeda!"

"Is that woman following us?" Rabastan whispered to Ted. "Seriously."

"There you are," she said, about a few hundred yards closer. Rabastan was scared at how fast she had gotten to them. The distance baffled him, and so he concentrated on something else. "Where have you been all day?"

"Ill," Ted cut in for her.

"Yeah," Meda chimed in, coughing for extra measure.

"And why are you all wet?" she asked.

"We got her to come outside for some fresh air, but she stumbled into the lake. And may I say, you are looking lovely today," Rabastan cajoled. Ted and Meda rolled their eyes, but the Queen was too flattered to notice.

"Well, Rabastan, I am glad to know my daughter picked such a wonderful man for her husband," she said, focusing fully on Rabastan, as if Meda wasn't even there. Ted and Meda could've sworn the Queen fluttered her eyelashes as well, but it was when she flicked her grey hair over her shoulder and sauntered off that they burst out laughing.

"Well I got her to go away didn't I?" Rabastan said to them, shaking his head. All the way back to the castle they were laughing, but Rabastan chose to ignore them. By the time they got to the secret room they were silent.

"What are we doing here?" Meda asked. "This place is useless," she said, cursing the infernal room that was the cause of her discomfort. She almost felt like kicking the wall, but knew from past experience, in Hogwarts, that kicking stone walls hurt. She sighed to release her frustration.

When they had left the room previously, it looked ransacked as if a bomb had hit it. Now, however, the cauldron was upright, and simmering on a low, warm fire, all the papers were back to their original state, and all the bottles were aligned in an orderly fashion. Meda didn't let this sway her.

"Come on Meda, you have to admit there's _something_ about this room," Ted said. "At least get dry by the fire…" he continued, ushering her towards a large, ornate, red armchair situated close to the roaring fireplace. Rabastan made silent vomiting movements that nobody noticed. A spider ran across the room hastily, taking refuge under the armchair. Its large, menacing shadow was cast across the illuminated cobble stone floor.

"Well what do you propose we do?" she said, her anger slipping away with every word as she sunk into the comfy armchair that hugged her warm and dry. "Look through everything again? It's all the same."

Rabastan scanned the room once over with his eyes, discovering nothing that stood out to him, apart from the spider's startlingly large shadow that was still seemingly painted on the floor like the markings from a corpse found by forensic scientists. Upon looking again, he noticed, in spite of the shadow that stole most of his attention, a piece of paper that lay right in the middle of the dark wooden table, its creamy colour standing out from the dark ringed circles of the mahogany desk.

"What's that?" he asked, getting momentarily excited, but when he read the parchment, it was exactly the same as the last piece of paper he had found, with the exact same riddle written in beautiful calligraphy. Rabastan's mind went back to the first time he had found it, and he could've sworn he put it in his pocket. He shook his head in confusion nut before he could scrunch the paper up and throw it in the fire in frustration, Ted snatched it off him.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ted asked, reading the poem silently. As he did, his bushy brown eyebrows knitted together. "What the…?"

"Give it to me!" Meda ordered from her armchair, making it seem more like a throne. She couldn't be bothered to move. Ted decided to tease her.

"No, come and get it," he said playfully, moving as far away from her as possible. She glared at him, her lips getting thinner with every step he took. Still, there was also a playful glint in her eye. He waved it from the other end of the room at her teasingly. Rabastan looked at them, and felt himself slowly smiling. Then he realised what he was doing and scowled.

A knock at the door of the room made the three stop dead. The noise sent the spider under the chair scuttling off into a crack in the wall, and the ghostly shadow on the floor disappeared with it.

"Who's there?" Rabastan asked in a deep threatening voice, and Ted and Andromeda sent him glares for talking.

"Nobody of consequence," an old man's voice came, followed by the owner of the voice, an elegantly tall thin man in a spotless suit, with white thinning hair and a skeletal, gaunt face. He smiled at them but it looked forced, and didn't suit his face.

"Who are you?" Ted asked, in a much nicer tone, but he was still wary.

"I'm your butler, princess," he said to Meda, ignoring Ted, who felt a bit put out. The butler bowed his head to Andromeda who smiled. She liked the butler already.

"How do you know about this room?" Rabastan asked threateningly, cutting straight to the chase. The butler smiled again and answered courteously.

"I know more about this castle than most, your highness," he said flatteringly. Rabastan liked being addressed as "your highness" and this distracted him.

As Rabastan daydreamed about himself, the butler seized his chance to change the subject.

"Who would like a cup of tea?" he asked. Andromeda yawned. The mere mention of a caffeinated drink perked her up.

"Yes please!" she said whilst yawning again. She didn't want to sleep her time as a human away, but then she never felt sleepy in the day as a swan either. It was a hard life, and made overdue potions homework seem easy as pumpkin pie.

Andromeda followed the nice old man out of the secret room, and Ted followed her, but the butler stopped him.

"You might want to stay here," he said. Ted was confused. "To clean that up, of course," the butler continued, pointing to the cauldron which began to bubble and spill over the side, splashing the floor with a black coloured liquid mixed with bits of what looked like green jelly.

Ted stared at it for a few moments, disgusted, and when he looked at the butler, all he saw was the closed door through which he had left with Meda. Ted thought nothing of it at first, and went to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Rabastan was staring horrified at the green and black sludge. It proved to be a contrast to his daydream about being a real prince.

"Help me!" Ted yelled in a strained voice. But the large wooden door wouldn't budge, not even with Rabastan pushing it.

Eventually they gave up, when the cauldron's contents was starting to engulf their feet.

"We have to stop it somehow," Ted said, staring at the potions on the wall. A light bulb might as well have lit up over his head.

"Yeah, these shoes are way too nice," Rabastan said, admiring his suede royal shoes.

"You know, sometimes I think you and Meda would be perfect together," Ted said sarcastically, but Rabastan somehow didn't catch the sarcasm.

"Thanks! See, I knew you'd realise it," he replied cheerfully.

Ted rolled his eyes and continued to examine the bottles on the wall. He threw a blood red coloured potion into the cauldron without reading the label, and a vast plume of yellow smoke arose from the cauldron, swirling around in the air as if in an imaginary breeze. The two boys stood there in rapture.


	8. Chapter 8

Bella was shoved out of the way by a flood of jealous girls. They tore at her dress in a few places, but it didn't affect the beauty of her image at all. She glared at them and contemplated using her wand, but before pulling it out, she realised that she might hurt Roddy in the process, if the wand decided to work, and refrained. He was somewhere amidst the throng of ball gowns, and Bella could barely see his dark brown head anymore.

In a huff, she stomped outside to be moody, and kill anybody who got in her way. Unfortunately for Bellatrix, though, everybody parted to let the beautiful "mystery girl", as she had been so fittingly nicknamed, through.

Outside, the cool air bit at Bella and gave her a rush of adrenaline. She fed on it, and almost felt like the Dark Lord was near. The sky was covered in thick clouds, and turned the moon into a pale orb floating behind a sheet. It made Bella the most beautiful thing in the night, much to the other girls' chagrin.

Bella smiled, it felt to her almost like murdering every one of them inside with the killing curse, except better. She sighed, touching her wrist where the dark mark would soon be. Bella longed for it with every ounce of blood in her body, and had willed for it to appear so many times. It never worked. Only with the Dark Lord's power could a dark mark be bestowed. Bella sighed again.

There were a few couples dancing outside, but when Bella appeared, the girls dragged their reluctant partners inside. Bella smiled, she felt powerful, and though it was only because of her looks that she annoyed the other girls, and not how effectively she used a wand, it was still good enough for her. She inhaled the cold air and when she exhaled a plume of smoke rose from her mouth. Bella didn't realise how bored she was until she had watched it rise into the atmosphere.

Bella was sick of sighing, so she abstained, but at that moment she felt a pair of eyes on her and stiffened. She contemplated grabbing her wand, for a moment, but figured it wouldn't work anyway; it'd probably just conjure a bouquet of flowers for her to hold instead.

Turning around, Bella saw a male figure in the shadows. She cursed him in her mind for not having a girlfriend to be jealous about her. The figure moved forward and into the light of a lamp hanging from the castle wall. He was about Roddy's height, though he looked slightly older. His hair was blonde and his eyes were a piercing blue colour. He stood like a prince, and looked like one more so than Roddy even. But Bella didn't like him; her first impression of him was that he was a pompous ass. This was even before he spoke.

"Hello," he said, bowing slightly, though all the time not taking his eyes off her. Bella suddenly felt like a slut, and shuddered. "Aren't you cold?" the boy said, misreading her shudder.

"No," Bella said rudely. "I'm not."

"Would you care to dance?" he asked, holding out his hand like Roddy had just done. His fringe came over one of his pleading puppy dog eyes. Bella didn't feel like dancing.

"Not really," she said, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes. It didn't put off her suitor one bit. He chuckled in a low growl and ran his fingers through his thick hair in a pompous manner, pushing it away from his face, revealing high cheekbones that were accentuated by the light of the lamp.

Bella had to use all her will power not to scoff, or throw up. This guy was just too… arrogant for her to bear.

"Are you sure about that?" he said, raising his eyebrows slightly and taking a big step towards her. Bella had to lean back to achieve the amount of personal space she desired. The boy's lips parted slightly and Bella could've sworn he was holding his breath.

"Yes, absolutely," Bella said coldly, turning towards the door and away from him. Her fingers were grasping the handle when his hand enclosed over hers.

"I would stay here if I were you," he said, his voice tone completely changed. It almost sounded threatening. Bella realised how close the boy was, and how easily she could reach up and punch him in the face. Her hand desperately wanted to do it, but she didn't want to potentially get Muggle blood on herself, no matter how bloodthirsty she was.

"Well you're not me," Bella replied angrily instead, yanking the handle down and pulling the door open.

Thankfully, nobody noticed Bella enter the ballroom again, and she slipped into the colourful throng of dancing couples unnoticed too. Once on the other side of the room, Bella hid in one of the side hallways and stood there panting until she caught her breath. The corset didn't help either.

When Bella was breathing normally again, and the adrenaline was at a sufficient level in her system, she scanned the ballroom for Roddy, from the safety of her little hide out. After all, she didn't know how many other guys there were who thought they actually had a chance with her. She didn't want to risk it, until she caught sight of Rodolphus, who had just managed to finish dancing with yet another princess.

Bella looked around her, and stepped out of the hallway. Immediately, the people around the hallway stopped their conversations and looked at her strangely. She smiled at them, regardless.

Roddy's face broke out into a stupid grin when he saw her again, and he immediately dropped the girl who was in his arms, and walked over to Bella.

"Where'd you go?" he asked. Bella thought for a moment.

"Just making friends," she said nonchalantly. Roddy laughed and shook his head at her.

But their conversation couldn't go any further, because Bella's hair started to fall out from the tight bun she had. Her dark hair began to pool around her shoulders and cover her face how she liked it. At this point, the whole population of the ballroom was confused, including Bella and Roddy.

Then Bella's dress started to disintegrate, coming apart at the seams. Bella held it up by the straps, but soon there'd be nothing left. Suddenly, a woman screamed, because mice were running around the buffet table. A decrepit old dog that Bella recognised as the one she had transfigured limped into the ballroom from the front entrance, and while everyone's attention was diverted, Bella made a beeline for the door. Outside, Bella saw a smashed pumpkin in bits in the road, and a valet who looked like he'd seen a ghost.

In her haste on the large marble staircase, one of Bella's glass slippers fell off, and amazingly stayed intact. Roddy ran outside after Bella, but by that time she was long gone. He found the shoe, and the short fat man at the door came to stand beside him.

"Sire," he said, panting heavily. "We couldn't… I tried to stop her."

"It's ok," Roddy said, waving a hand absent mindedly. "I'll find her," he continued determinedly, turning around to go back inside and dismiss his guests.

"B-bu-but how?" the little man stuttered.

"If I have to put this shoe on every maiden in the kingdom, I'll find her," he said in a deep manly voice. Roddy shook his head once the words had left his mouth, as if he had been possessed when saying them. _That was weird_, he thought, before clutching the glass slipper and heading back inside, with the small doorman trailing behind him.

***

Narcissa, Lyanna and Lucius all collapsed in the quaint little café they had found, about half a mile down the beach from the palace, and just outside the main market place. Their arms were full of bags.

"Lyanna," Cissa said weakly. "I think I have enough dresses now."

"D'ya think?" Lucius scoffed. Lyanna glared at him.

"Nobody told you to come along anyway," she snapped. Their feet were aching and their moods were not exactly as bright as the sun that shone down on them. It was just after midday and the sun was at its highest, reaching straight down to the ground with its scorching hot rays. The usually pale Cissa, Lyanna and Lucius were all extremely red in the face.

"I need a shower," Lucius moaned. The girls mumbled noises of agreement, and began to make their way up the beach to the palace. The sand was so hot they could feel it through their shoes.

Cissa looked longingly at the glittering ocean, wishing to submerge herself in its cool waters. It looked so inviting… however, if she got any of her dresses wet, Lyanna would kill her. Cissa sighed and carried on moving with the others, shuffling her feet through the white sand that resembled the colour her face should've been.

As soon as the palace came into sight, they all tried to walk faster, but only ended up going slower after tiring themselves out by running for a few yards. It was an epic race to the palace, and Cissa was lagging behind. Most of the dresses were hers, and although Lucius was carrying some, she had to carry more. Eventually, Cissa gave up, throwing her bags on the sandy beach. In a moment of pure frustration, she waded into the sea, but stopped when the water came up to her neck. Her hair made floated in the water around her and she felt like a mermaid again. If only there were a way to fuse her legs together, she thought. Then a voice broke her out of her day dream.

"Hello, Princess," the Sorceress' voice said. Cissa jumped, wading back to the beach as fast as she could, but keeping her legs submerged in water.

"What- where are you?" she asked, staring at the ocean that had now turned black. "What do you want?" she asked again, feeling a bit stupid talking to thin air.

"Oh, nothing, I just wanted to let you know, I've killed your father," she said, laughing mirthlessly. Cissa squirmed, the sound unnerved her. She looked up to the castle doors, at the back entrance where Lyanna and Lucius must've gone in, but there was nobody there.

"Oh," Cissa said, feeling a bit of sympathy for a man she never knew. It had only been a day though, had she killed him that quick? Cissa thought. He couldn't have been that great, then. Cissa imagined her real father up against the Sorceress, his wand pointed at her, ready for a duel. She almost laughed. Her own father would probably be so overcome by her beauty, he wouldn't have been able to lay a spell on her, and then she would've killed him too.

"Well, I just wanted to know whether you wanted to become a mermaid again, or has your Prince fell in love with you already?" she asked, a hint of sarcasm detectable in her sweet voice, but Cissa didn't feel comfortable talking about Lucius with the Sorceress, somehow.

"No, he hasn't," she said flatly. "I'll stay human, though, thanks," she continued in the same tone, and then got up to go back to the palace.

"One more thing," the Sorceress added. "Has he even come close to kissing you yet?"

Narcissa blushed, and was glad the Sorceress couldn't see her, or she hoped she couldn't. "No, why?"

"Oh, that's bad…" the Sorceress' voice said, sounding concerned. Though deep down Cissa could tell it was only mock-concern. "Very bad indeed." Cissa's curiosity got the better of her.

"What's bad?" she asked.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you this, because it would've put pressure on you, but…" Narcissa wanted to know, and all the Sorceress' stalling was making her go mad. "If he doesn't kiss you by tomorrow, I'm afraid; you will turn back into a mermaid, and belong to me."

Narcissa didn't bother replying. Instead she ran as fast as she could back to the palace, only stopping to grab the bags. Even the blood pounding in her ears couldn't block out the Sorceress' echoing voice. Lyanna pounced on her as soon as she got in the door, taking her mind off things momentarily.

"Take these bags," she ordered the doorman, who immediately obliged. "Come with me," she ordered Narcissa, who didn't dare disobey the Princess-on-a-mission. She led Cissa to the entrance hall, where an entourage of servants were lined up on either side, and a small party of people stood in the middle, including the King and Queen and Lucius. Lyanna dragged Cissa over the marble floor to them, and she wondered what on earth they were all doing there, when her eyes fell on a young woman, about her age, who was an identical, if not a little younger, version of the Sorceress. Right down to the pasty white skin, shiny black hair, violet eyes and rose-red lips. Her jaw dropped, and the younger Sorceress smiled at her.

"It's so lovely of you to come, Cassandra," the Queen said, looking like she wanted to hug the Sorceress.

"I'm so happy to be here," the Sorceress said, her voice sounded the same, though she had sugar-coated it considerably in the presence of the King and Queen. Cissa shut her mouth long enough to scoff. Lyanna elbowed her friend, but she felt exactly the same.

"Well, we're glad to have you, my dear," the Queen replied, gushing at Cassandra. Narcissa almost threw up; it was too much to bear. Though her eyes stayed firmly fixed on this new girl, Cassandra, her glance was never returned. Cissa knew the girl had to be aware of her gaze, and couldn't fathom how on earth the Sorceress was in the palace. Not so much, how, but why… why would the Sorceress want to be on land. Didn't she already have the sea? Narcissa racked her brains, but once the little welcoming committee was dismissed, she dragged Lyanna into her room.

"I know that girl!" she tried explaining to Lyanna, who just snorted.

"Everybody knows her, she's the beloved Princess of our neighbouring kingdom," Lyanna scoffed. It was obvious she disliked her fellow Princess. Cissa sighed and shook her head.

"No, I mean…" and she went on to explain all that had happened to her since she arrived in this world, leaving out anything to do with Hogwarts. All she had to do was make Lyanna believe she really was a Mermaid Princess, and that Cassandra was really an evil Sea Witch. Anything else would just confuse the poor girl. She found it hard enough to believe in mermaids, let alone wizards and witches and books that transport you to other worlds. Needless to say, the Princess was still shocked.

"So you're a…" Lyanna whispered. Cissa nodded solemnly. "Oh my god, they exist!" Lyanna screeched. Cissa shushed her. "I knew it!"

"Be quiet, and tell no one!" Cissa reprimanded her. The Princess' eyes widened as she understood the importance of the secret that had been bestowed upon her.

"So… what are we going to do about Cassandra?" Lyanna asked. Narcissa shrugged and sighed. "More importantly…" Lyanna continued, "What are we going to do about _Lucius_."

Cissa's face went bright red. "What about him?" she asked in a cautionary tone.

"Well, he has to kiss you!" Lyanna exclaimed excitedly. Cissa hoped her friend had forgotten this one point, though she had to confide in someone if she couldn't tell Lucius any of it.

"No, he doesn't," Cissa said sternly. "We have to take care of Cassandra first." And with that, she left her room, though as soon as she opened the door, she found herself staring into a pair of violet eyes.

"Oh, so sorry to bother you," Cassandra smiled. Cissa narrowed her eyes, but opened the door a bit wider. Lyanna shrunk into the room, not wanting to greet Cassandra.

"No problem," Cissa replied.

"I was just talking to the Queen, and, well, she said I could have this room. I hope it isn't too much trouble for you to move in with Lyanna," Cassandra said, her voice sounded so sweet and apologetic, yet the smile still remained on her ivory face, not at all apologetic. Cissa felt Lyanna tense behind her.

"Not at all," Cissa said through gritted teeth.

"That's wonderful," Cassandra replied, seemingly sighing a breath of relief. "I just want us to all be friends," she continued, spotting Lyanna behind Cissa. Her face lightened by a small fraction, but neither of the other girls bought it.

"Cassandra! It's been so long," Lyanna said, trying her best to sound excited, though her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Indeed it has, Lyanna," Cassandra replied, rather in the same tone, whilst pushing past the girls to get into her new room. Many icy glares were exchanged in that small amount of time.

"Oh, and I'm so sorry about taking your room," she added to Narcissa, her violet eyes staring straight into her blue ones. Cissa was sure now that this was the Sorceress, there was so mistaking it. She didn't stutter or act shy, though. Instead she stared straight back at her.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she replied, smiling as briefly as possible.

Later that evening, dinner turned out to be "The Cassandra Show", as the King and Queen gushed shamelessly over their neighbouring Princess. The dinner table was longer than the entire length of Grimmauld Place, and Narcissa and Lyanna weren't even anywhere near each other. Servants lined the dining room, and Cissa wondered whether they were real, or wax models, they seemed so still that they might as well have been suits of armour to decorate the room instead. Nobody except the Queen and Cassandra spoke at the table, with Lucius muttering the occasion word or two.

"Oh, and did you know, Lucius, that she plays the violin, piano forte, flute…" the Queen listed. It was as if they were marketing her to their son. Cissa chewed her food extra hard, grinding every morsel. Lucius wasn't exactly having a fun time either. He replied by mumbling an affirmation, with his mouth full, and was scolded for doing so. Cassandra laughed, and everyone at the table seemed transfixed by her supernatural beauty. Narcissa just skewered her food violently with her fork and carried on eating. After dinner, it was time to socialise, dance, and play sweet music, all of which Cassandra was brilliant at, without fail. They all exited to the drawing room, where a fire slowly burned in a large marble fireplace. The room was small compared to the rest of the palace, but cosy. It had a homely feel to it; for one thing it was carpeted in luscious red velvet, unlike the rest of the palace, and had huge red tapestries hanging from the walls, covering the grey, dull stone, which added to the homely effect. It may have been homely, but it looked too much like the Gryffindor common room, or what Cissa _thought _it might look like, for her liking.

"It's like they want me to marry her," Lucius stage whispered to Cissa, once he had managed to get near enough to her without Cassandra or the Queen dragging him away again. He shuddered. They sat near the fire on a huge red sofa, whilst everyone else was mingling in one group on the other side of the room. Though it wasn't a huge room, the larger party, that included Cassandra, made it clear who was not involved.

"God, I hope not!" Cissa whispered back, until she realised what it had sounded like. Lucius was regarding her strangely, so she thought of how to save herself, and fast. "Because then we would never get out of here," she added in a convincing tone, and was saved even further when Cassandra walked over and dragged Lucius away, mumbling something about dancing with her. Not a glance was spared for Cissa, who fumed silently until Lyanna came over and broke her out of her evil, scheming thoughts.

"Having fun?" Cissa was asked, as she grinded her teeth together slowly.

"Tons," she replied.

***

As Ted and Rabastan fought their way out of the rogue secret room, Andromeda was being dragged through the forest, bound and gagged, by the old butler. Her muffled cries were only heard by the forest animals, who were helpless in aiding her. She cursed the useless Muggle creatures, until she realised she sounded like Bella. That was enough to make her stop. Instead she concentrated her energy on getting the piece of cloth around her mouth off, so she could yell all curses known to man at the butler. Once her mouth was free, she did just that.

"Hey!" she yelled, glad of being able to talk. Birds flew off in alarm above her head. She cursed them and their winged freedom. "Who do you think you are?" she asked, thrashing about until her whole body ached from being bruised by the ropes. Daylight was beginning to penetrate the inky blue sky, and if that hadn't woken up most of the forest, Meda's screaming certainly had.

"Nobody of consequence," he replied calmly, dragging Meda deeper into the forest by the rope that was binding her hands. "Just your butler," he continued. Meda scoffed.

"Some butler," she snorted. "Not any more anyway, I'm firing you," she said sternly, sounding rather like she did when she scolded Sirius for picking on Regulus or angering Bella. She missed them so much, and wondered what on earth would happen to her. Would she ever see any of them again? Her mind flitted back to Ted and Rabastan, locked in the secret room, all because of her, until the butler's evil laughter shook her out of her dream.

"I hardly think you're in a position to do that right now, Princess," he said, roaring with laughter. Meda scowled. She couldn't see his eyes, but knew the look in them would be one of utter, crazed determination and madness. She had seen it in Bella many times. Sometimes she wondered how they were related, but at that moment she even missed her Muggle-hating older sister.

Just as Meda felt she was about to fall asleep on her feet, they emerged from the trees into a valley, clear of all trees. There was, however, no room for trees, as the majority of space was taken up by the lake and palace, almost identical to that of the one Meda had been kidnapped from. She stared up at the familiar marble palace, and the purple waters of the lake. It was all so familiar, yet this scene had a more sinister feel to it than the calm serenity of Meda's palace.

"Where are we?" Meda asked, mostly to herself.

"We're at an exact replica of your home, Princess," he replied, laughing his trademark husky, evil laugh again. Meda was getting sick of it.

"But, how?" she asked, baffled. Her whole body ached and headaches were the last thing she needed. Plus, she hadn't slept in days. She didn't even want to consider what she looked like. A shallow voice in her head wished that neither Ted nor Rabastan would find her until she got cleaned up.

"Don't strain your mind Princess, I hope I don't completely perplex your mind by telling you I did this with magic, but then that's all beyond your comprehension," the butler spat. Meda almost felt like laughing now. Magic and beyond her comprehension did not belong in the same sentence. She bit her tongue, though, and acted like a Muggle would at his insult. It gave her a strange thrill, though, and that scared her. If Bella had seen her he would've thrown a fit.

"Magic?!" Meda squeaked. "B-b-but…" she stammered, and the butler just yanked on the rope, making Meda lunge forward. She caught herself just in time to stop herself from falling face down in the mud. Her hair, however, did not escape as easily. She cursed silently and continued looking like star-struck, as if she were musing over the existence of magic. Stopping herself from giggling every so often proved too difficult.

"What are you smiling at?" the butler growled. Such violence from a skinny old man made Meda want to laugh more, but she bit the inside of her cheeks.

"Nothing," she said quietly. Then an idea came to her. "I was just thinking about when my friends come and save me and defeat you, you sad old man." The butler's lips grew narrower and thinner, and all but disappeared. He remained silent until they reached the castle.

Inside the vast replica of the palace, he took Meda up to the topmost tower, to where her room should've been. However, there was nothing inside it, just a barren, empty room with grey walls and cobwebs everywhere. Meda was shoved inside it.

"Stay there, while I go negotiate your ransom," the butler said, his thin lips curving up in a sinister smile. His dull brown eyes shone with excitement, and then he slammed the door. Meda heard a key turning in the lock and dropped on the cold floor, exhausted. She wanted to curl up in bed, but by that time, the sun was up, and seconds after the butler left, she turned back into a swan.

Ted and Rabastan had managed to spring from the secret room, and rode out of the palace immediately to look for Meda, much to the Queen's and the servants' dismay. The wedding preparations would have to wait, as would Rabastan's hunger.

"But I'm so hungry!" he complained for the hundredth time as they rode through the woods, looking majestic on their steeds as they followed the trail the butler had so carelessly left.

"What about Meda? Do you think that guy is feeding her?" Ted asked sternly. Rabastan pouted and his stomach growled, as if on cue. Ted rolled his eyes.

"Here," he threw a roll of bread he had stashed for the journey. Rabastan's eyes grew wide.

"You mean you had this the whole time!" he asked incredulously. Ted raised an eyebrow. They rode along at a fast pace, but slow enough so that they didn't lose the trail. Ted had impressed Rabastan with his tracking skills that he had acquired as a child with his Muggle father.

"We've only been riding for half an hour," he replied. Rabastan still narrowed his eyes. Daylight was invading the sky now, chasing all the stars away. The boys hadn't gotten any sleep in days, and every time one of them started to fall asleep, the other would wake him up.

"How can I trust you anymore?" he asked, digging into the bread hungrily. Ted chuckled.

"You trusted me before?"

Rabastan realised he had been caught off guard. His hunger had made him delirious, and even that roll of bread hadn't satiated him. But Rabastan didn't have to answer, because the horses had reached the clearing, and were whinnying in alarm.

"Woah," Rabastan said, his jaw lowering, as he took in the palace and the lake. "This looks exactly like…" he trailed off, knowing he didn't have to say it. Ted understood exactly. "Could it be magic?"

"What else would it be?" Ted replied, before nudging his horse to go forward, down the gentle muddy slopes of the valley. It took longer than if the banks hadn't been muddy, but eventually the horses got to the palace, trailing muddy hoof prints all over the dull white marble steps. The door was locked, and the weather was overcast. The cool wind licked at the Princes in their breeches and waistcoats. Suddenly, they missed the Hogwarts robes that they could wrap around themselves whenever the weather got too cold.

"Maybe no one's home," Rabastan suggested, but as she words left his mouth, a large grey bird with a piece of parchment attached to his leg flew from a window, and in the direction the boys came. "Ok, maybe someone is home."

"Let's go around the back," Ted said in hushed tones. They crept around the palace after hiding their horses in the empty stables, and made their way around the palace, being careful not to come in sight of the windows. However, unbeknownst to them, the butler was watching their every move with his hawk-like eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

Once Bella had returned to the house that she appeared in, her clothes were almost completely gone and her one bare foot completely black with dirt. She was glad the entire kingdom was at the palace and nobody was in the streets to see her in her underwear as she climbed in through an open window. Inside the dark, dank house, she flopped on the floor, only moving to grab the wand and put some clothes on herself. Bella slept until midday the next morning, when she was awoken by the sound of horses whinnying outside. Her eyes fluttered open and were flooded with light. She cursed herself for not shutting the curtains when she realised they were shut, but were so flimsy they didn't block any light at all.

The sound of horses was nothing new to Bella, as carriages frequently ventured down the cobbled roads outside, but another sound made her start in bed.

"I have a good feeling about this house," Roddy's voice floated up to her attic window.

"Yes, sire, you had a good feeling about the last three hundred houses too," another voice answered and Bella recognised it as belonging to the short doorman. She jumped out of bed and ran to the door, pulling it open with more than enough force, almost being thrown back when the tarnished gold doorknob came off in her hand. The door had been tampered with, and Bella could not open it, no matter how much she kicked and punched. Upon first sight, the half-eaten wooden door did not look as strong as it really was. It wouldn't budge.

Naturally, Bella's mood deteriorated, but she was never one to give up easily. Walking over to the window, Bella opened it wide and leaned out. The height made adrenaline pump through her veins and she loved it, breathing in the smoky air. She coughed. Roddy had gone inside the house, and the coachman was sitting calmly on the carriage. Calling to him would do no good, and scaling down the building was most certainly out of the question. She didn't have enough sheets to tie together anyway.

"What's going on here?" a passer-by asked the coachman. He looked up sleepily.

"The Prince is looking for his bride, apparently he danced with her last night but she fled. Her loss, but the Prince won't give up, and I need some sleep," the coachman replied, yawning. The passer-by raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if she blew it, then it's her own fault, the Prince should move on," she said to the coachman. He nodded in agreement and went back to his nap. Bella didn't want to listen anymore. She didn't have to ask who the mystery girl was. Instead she pondered how to escape, when she suddenly remembered the wand. It wasn't the best wand in the world, she had to admit, but it was all she had, and she had to at least try.

It was better than nothing.

"Here goes nothing," she sighed. "_Alohamora_," Bella whispered into the keyhole, pointing the wand at it. Instead of unlocking the door, like Bella had wanted, the keyhole turned into a mouse, which scurried away into a crevice in the wall immediately upon being transfigured. It wasn't exactly what Bella had in mind, but when the door swung open, a huge hole where the lock mechanism should be, she didn't complain either.

Before running down the attic stairs, Bella grabbed the one glass slipper she had left, to prove she was the girl at the ball. Not that Roddy would need any persuading; she just wanted to rub it in the old woman and her ugly daughters' faces.

Inside the sitting room, Roddy and the doorman sat on grimy sofas in front of the eager sisters and their equally eager mother. They were smiling like fools in the presence of the Crowned Prince, who was shifting nervously.

"Sire?" the doorman asked.

"Yes?" Roddy replied.

"The slipper…" the doorman said, nudging him and pointing to the slipper in his hand which he was to put on each of the sisters' not-so-dainty feet. Roddy sighed, he knew they weren't Bella, and if he had to touch another maiden's unwashed feet, he'd throw up again. The royal carriage was already soiled.

"Yes, of course," Roddy replied grimly. The doorman gave him a smile of encouragement, but this didn't help him in the slightest. He held his breath and went down on one knee in front of the sisters. They shrieked in delight. Here goes nothing, he thought.

Bella watched from the kitchen, opening the door just enough for her to see through it. Letting Roddy suffer a bit wouldn't hurt much. Her sadistic nature got the better of her as she watched him try and squash the glass slipper onto the larger sister's wide foot without breaking the slipper. After going blue in the face, Roddy gave up, and the girl's usually red face turned purple in rage.

"Mother!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. She stared at her foot in frustration, as if she could will it to be smaller. When it didn't work and her mother didn't reply, she fled from the room, sobbing. Bella snickered. Serves her right, she thought.

The second sister's foot was thin and long, much like her body. The slipper was half the length of her foot, and Roddy gave up after about five seconds. Even a fool would know just by looking at the slipper that it would not fit. The sister was not one to give up easily, though.

"Try it again," she ordered, in a harsh voice. Her mother cleared her throat. "Your majesty," the girl added in a sweet voice. Roddy sighed, taking another deep breath and trying again, to no avail.

"Mother, tell him he isn't doing it properly," she said, sounding much too like a spoiled brat.

"It doesn't fit," Roddy said to her sternly through gritted teeth. She scowled at him.

"Let me try again!" the girl ordered, snatching the slipper and shoving it on her foot. It began to crack.

"You're breaking it!" the doorman cried as Roddy tried snatching it back. But by that time it was too late, the glass slipper was snapped in half from the force of being shoved onto a foot far too large for it. The girl didn't seem the least bit remorseful.

"Oops," she said, holding the two pieces in each hand, a big smile on her face. But Bella didn't see what happened next because she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you doing down here? I thought we locked you in your room!" the thrill voice of the larger girl met Bella's ears.

"I came to see what this was all about," Bella said, dusting off her shoulder once the girl's hand left it. She turned around to face her and saw her eyes were puffier and redder than usual. She had been crying.

"Oh, well don't waste your time, it's not like it will fit _you_," she said, sniffling. Despite her upset state, she still didn't fail to insult Bella.

"Don't count on it," Bella replied, bearing her teeth at the girl before entering the sitting room without a backwards glance. "I'm here!" she announced, receiving glares from the girls and their mother. Roddy smiled and sighed in relief. The doorman looked at her strangely.

"And what makes you think you are of any importance?" the mother said calmly, though her face was fixed in a permanent grimace.

"Yes, tell us," the doorman agreed. He still thought she was just a peasant girl.

"This is the girl I've been looking for!" Roddy said to him, reprimanding him for being so rude. The doorman looked put out, as did the others.

"But-b- b- but," the doorman stuttered, though nobody was paying him any attention.

"How can she prove it?" the mother said, an evil smile forming on her face. Bella grimaced now, as she realised she was on the good side, for once. It sickened her. She hoped Voldemort didn't know where she was. This would not have sat well with him, what with all the live people and no killing curses flying everywhere. Idle chit chat never did amuse him. "You can't put the slipper on her."

"I don't need a slipper to know she's the girl," Roddy said to her simultaneously as Bella pulled out the other slipper from inside her clothing where she had been concealing it for the right moment. This was certainly it. The smile on the mother's face disappeared, her lips grew thinner and thinner and the lines on her face grew more and more prominent. Her voice turned harsh and broken, instead of how sweet and polite she sounded talking to Roddy.

"Girls," she croaked. "Bow to the Prince and the new Princess." Roddy nodded to them as they did so. Their mother looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Sire?" the doorman said, taking the slipper carefully from Bella and handing it to Roddy. "Would you do the honours?" he continued, motioning to Bella's foot with the slipper. Roddy's face lit up and he smiled at the doorman as he went down on one knee in front of Bella. She lifted her foot up daintily, slipping it out of its current shoe, and Roddy put the glass slipper on her foot. It was like the last piece to a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle, and it couldn't have fit more perfectly.

Bella flashed the doorman a smile and he blushed, embarrassed, and smiled back at her. Bella revelled in his embarrassment and fear, almost like a Dementor would.

Then Roddy stood up and she stopped thinking about Dementors and other things, and only of the sisters' eyes on her. And so, as Roddy got closer to her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted her lips on his. But she did not notice when the cries and gasps of the sisters faded away into the distance, the scenery around them was torn into shreds as the fabric of that reality disintegrated, and they were plucked from the story.

***

The next day was particularly hard for Cissa. She had to make sure that Lucius kissed her, although she didn't want to admit it. Lyanna took charge of this task, but when almost all of the day had gone by without her even glimpsing Lucius, Cissa gave up and went to sit out on the beach and run her fingers and toes through the white sand. It relaxed her.

The sun was high in the sky and despite the sand being white; it was extremely hot, as if Cissa was sitting on a giant cooker. Slowly but surely, she slipped into the water, sighing as the cool water caressed her blistering skin.

Despite being half submerged in water, Cissa was still clearly visible from the beach, and when Lyanna came looking for her, she didn't have to look very long.

"There you are!" Cissa heard Lyanna say as she floated aimlessly on the water, her eyes closed. She groaned. "Come with me, I have an idea."

"No," Cissa moaned, as she got up. Lyanna was not to be disobeyed, though, but when she was led to Cassandra's room, Cissa began to realise what the idea involved. "No way," Cissa said, more convincingly this time. "I am not sneaking into her room."

"You're not," Lyanna said comfortingly. "We are." That didn't help convince Cissa, but Lyanna still managed to get her in the room. One inside, everything seemed the same. It was meticulously tidy, the balcony doors were open and the thin curtains were being blown into the room by a soft breeze. The blue bed sheets were all made, the shell-shaped matching headboard shone in the sunlight that streamed into the room and a single hairbrush lay on the dressing table, unused. Lyanna picked it up and examined it, as if to find a clue.

The room looked positively ordinary, except for the sparkling light that came through from the balcony. A light like that could not have belonged to the sun alone. Narcissa and Lyanna moved out onto the balcony to take a look, and there stood a large solid gold fork, blinding them in the sunlight.

"What's that?" Cissa asked, pointing at the Trident. To her it looked like just a big old giant fork.

"It's the Trident, silly. It belongs to the king of the sea. Don't you know the stories?" Lyanna asked Cissa incredulously. Cissa blushed. She was supposed to be the Princess of the sea. She should've known that.

"Oh, yeah, that old thing," she said nonchalantly, although it proved in her mind that Cassandra was the Sorceress, as the Sorceress had killed the king and had to have taken his Trident. Kind of like a wand, but for mermaids. The thought amused Cissa, until Cassandra's voice snapped her out of it.

"What are you doing in my room?" she asked, trying not to sound annoyed. Her beautiful face was arranged in a slight frown, and it did not become her. She stood in the doorway connecting her room to her balcony.

"We were just…" Cissa started, pausing and looking at Lyanna for help.

"Looking for Narcissa's hairbrush," Lyanna continued for her, brandishing the hairbrush from the room at her and beaming. "Found it!" she exclaimed. Cassandra wasn't convinced, and laughed her trademark evil Sorceress laugh.

"You are the Sorceress aren't you?" Cissa said, as Cassandra gradually aged in front of their eyes and turned into the Sorceress that Cissa knew.

"So you finally figured it out," she said, sobering up. The only thing that stood between her and the Trident was Cissa and Lyanna. The tension was almost visible in the air. "Took you long enough."

"But why?" Cissa asked, and as she spoke, outside the sun became obscured behind clouds that seemingly came out of nowhere, and the three of them were cast into a dark shadow. The Sorceress sighed, even though she was out of the water, it seemed that she was the one most in her element there.

"My plan went perfectly, I had the sea at my disposal," the Sorceress began her long monologue that Cissa had set up perfectly for her. "But I had to get rid of the evidence. You see, I could not have some prissy little mermaid walking around on land, the only living heir to the throne. So I came to destroy you, by any means necessary, and if that meant taking your place on land, and stealing your beloved Prince, then so be it."

"Taking my place?" Cissa said, her voice echoing around the empty room. The air buzzed with something unidentifiable, like the calm before a storm.

"Yes, didn't you ever wonder why I chose the name Cassandra, Narcissa?" she sneered, "And why the King and Queen loved me so much? I wanted to take your place, and to make sure your Prince wouldn't kiss you so that you would belong to me," the Sorceress spelled out for her.

"I don't want the sea!" Cissa exclaimed. "You can go back there, I don't care, but I'm staying here!"

The Sorceress laughed, "You still don't get it. I don't care what you want. I want you. The Princess of the sea is a very rare commodity, and if I return with your corpse, the merfolk shall have no hope left but to bow to me."

Cissa cursed the stupid merfolk.

"What's going on?" Lucius asked, from behind the Sorceress. She started, for once, and changed back into her younger form.

"What are you doing in here?" the Sorceress asked, in the form of Cassandra, in her sweet sugary voice. Lucius came out onto the balcony, but as the sun had gone, he didn't notice the Trident right away.

"My mother made me come in here," Lucius replied, grimacing, probably as he remembered his own mother. Cissa hadn't seen him in what seemed like years, let alone talked to him. She wanted desperately to be alone with him, and he still looked so carefree and boyishly handsome. She hated him for it. Whilst she was worrying he was being shoved at a beautiful girl by his, supposed, parents. Her feelings towards him changed a dozen times in the first few seconds he stood there. "So what_ is_ going on?" he repeated. Even Lucius, who can be oblivious at times, knew that Lyanna and Cassandra and Cissa hanging out was definitely not usual.

"Cassandra's the Sorceress!" Lyanna shouted out at Lucius. Cassandra stared her down, but she didn't stop. "And you have to kiss Cissa before sunset!" she continued, all in one breath.

"Why?" he asked, raising one white-blonde eyebrow. Cissa's face was bright red, as was Cassandra's.

"Or else she'll turn back into a mermaid," Lyanna panted. Cassandra looked ready to make Lyanna's tongue fall off, when Cissa grabbed the Trident. It glowed under her touch, and she almost expected it to be burning hot too, but instead it sent chills up her fingers as she touched the cool golden metal.

"Don't even think about it," she threatened Cassandra, not caring how incredibly cliché she sounded. The Sorceress' lips curved up in a sinister smile.

"And what do you think you're going to do with _that_?" she asked, trying not to laugh out loud at the prospect of Cissa handling the Trident.

Narcissa blushed angrily, thinking she could do whatever she wanted with it, but as she her train of thought continued, she realised the Sorceress was right. She couldn't use spells with it, and thinking about it, Cissa just wanted to break the stupid fork that the Sorceress desired so much she'd kill for it. The handle of the Trident was definitely not hollow, she could feel it beneath her hands, heavy and hard as rock. She could never snap something like that. Instead, Cissa looked around for something equally as hard to smash it on. The only thing that came to mind was the marble floors and railing of the balcony. It seemed so crazy to her, that it just might have worked.

So, with the eyes of the Sorceress, Lyanna and Lucius on her, waiting to see what would happen, she lifted the Trident high in the air over her head. The Sorceress flinched, and Cissa smiled. She thought that Cissa was going to throw it over the balcony, thus plunging it into the sea. But Narcissa couldn't take the chance if it wasn't destroyed as easily as that. She guessed right.

"The Trident isn't as fragile as you think, Princess," the Sorceress sneered. Cissa smiled back at her, and then looked to Lucius for support. He was practically holding his breath, waiting to find out what she would do. After successfully creating enough tension, Narcissa slammed the Trident onto the marble floor with as much force as she could muster, sending bits of marble and gold metal flying. Her face was gashed slightly by several shards, and the handle of the Trident was crooked, but she lifted it above her head for another blow, not looking to see the Sorceress' reaction.

"You silly girl! What are you doing?" she yelled, her shrill voice sounding like it belonged to a very old lady. Cissa smiled like a maniac as she slammed the Trident down for another blow. This time the handle snapped, and Cissa looked up at the Sorceress, being held back by Lucius and Lyanna. The bits of the Trident shone brightly for a few seconds, even brighter perhaps that the sun, but as the real sun was still concealed behind the clouds, Cissa didn't mind the intrusion of light, until it got to bright that even with her eyes closed it blinded her. After a moment, the light began to dim, and when Lucius, Lyanna and Cissa opened their eyes, there was nothing left of the Sorceress but a pile of sea foam on the cracked marble floor.

They all rubbed their eyes, not quite sure what to believe anymore. One question ran through their minds: was she really gone? It couldn't have been that easy, but it was.

"Is it over?" Lucius asked, walking over to Cissa carefully, staring at the marble floor as if it could give way any minute.

"I think so," she replied, wiping the sweat from her forehead. The sun had re-emerged from behind the clouds, but by now it was sunset. An orange semi circle materialized on the horizon, its other half reflected in the soft glowing pink ocean. The sky slowly faded into dark purple from red, and a rainbow of colours in between. Cissa blushed as she remembered the Sorceress' prediction. She had to kiss Lucius before the sun had completely set. She thanked the heavens for the pink glow of the sea that would hide her blush from Lucius. He was staring wistfully at the sunset, though. "It's beautiful," she whispered, grudgingly, slightly jealous that it had taken his attention away from her. Unbeknownst to them, Lyanna had slipped slowly back into the room to leave the two of them alone. Lucius murmured in agreement, and then a smile broke out onto his face.

"So what was that about doing something before sunset again?" he asked, pretending to ponder. Then he glanced sideways at Cissa's blanched expression, smiling cheekily.

"Oh, well. The Sorceress is dead now so it doesn't matter," she tried laughing it off. She still hadn't convinced herself of that fact though.

"Hmm, well that depends," Lucius mused. Cissa was confused.

"On what?" she asked, turning to face him more. But Lucius didn't answer, instead he brought his face down so his lips were a hair's breadth from hers, and then smiled. Cissa felt his lips curve up next to hers, but her heart was beating too fast for her to move.

"Whether I still think it matters," he whispered, and then his lips came down on hers. Cissa knew it was coming, but still, her eyes widened. It was her first kiss, and she didn't know how to react at first, but slowly, her eyes fluttered shut and her arms came around Lucius' neck just as his hands came to rest on her waist, and the sunset blazed in the sky behind them in a fairytale kiss to end all kisses.

***

By the time Ted and Rabastan had found their way into the castle, the sun was fairly high in the sky. Only the adrenaline in their veins at breaking and entering was keeping them from falling asleep on their feet as they checked in every room to try and find Meda, who they knew would be in her swan form. Of course, the fact that they were tired hindered their search, as neither of them thought to look in the replica of her own room. The butler kept an eye on them, as they amused him considerably.

"Meda!" Ted yelled again, his voice getting hoarse. Nobody answered and he sighed.

"She's a swan, she probably can't hear you or call back," Rabastan said, rubbing his temples. Ted was beginning to annoy him, but that was nothing knew.

"Swans can be very loud actually," Ted snapped back. Their tiredness also made them fight, and that did not help to find Meda.

Inside her room, Meda's swan form struggled to break free, but it was hard to open the door to the balcony with no opposable thumbs. Frustrated and with her feathers malting, eventually she gave up and slept on the cold bare floor. By the time the boys found her, it looked like the corpse of a dead swan lay on the floor. It took them a few moments to realise this though.

"Is she…?" Rabastan asked nobody in particular. He didn't even want to know the answer.

"No," Ted said firmly, blinking to keep himself awake. "She can't be."

Rabastan walked over to the swan and felt its feathers. They were cold, but that proved nothing. The whole room was freezing. He didn't know where to check for a pulse in a swan and all the while both of them became more frantic.

"Wake up," Ted whispered to the swan. "Wake up!" he said louder, shaking it this time.

The swan woke up and stared at them both, and then it flapped around hysterically. Meda was glad to see them, and though they didn't know it, glad she wasn't in her human form as well. The two boys laughed and sighed in relief. They didn't want to think about what they'd have done if the other possibility had occurred. Instead, they focused on getting out of the creepy castle as soon as possible, but somebody else didn't want that to happen.

"I see you found her then," the butler said, clapping as he entered the room. The two boys' smiles disappeared and they were immediately on guard, frowning at the old man.

"Let us go and we promise not to hurt you, old man," Rabastan threatened. The butler laughed and the swan made a noise. Ted shushed her.

"Hurt me? On the contrary, it is I who will be doing the hurting," the old man chuckled, and from behind him two huge black dogs materialized out of nowhere… as if by magic. In his hand, he carried a huge ornate book, probably with hundreds of spells written in it, the source of his magic.

"It's just an illusion," Ted told Rabastan, but at that moment as one of the dogs circled around them, it bit at his hand just after he drew it away. Rabastan could almost feel the teeth crunching his fingers.

"Yeah," Rabastan said, not convinced. "Sure."

"Any last requests?" the butler asked, obviously joking. A plan formed in Rabastan's mind as the dogs circled around them for a second time. He couldn't guarantee that it would work, but he had to try something.

"Yeah, I'd like to go home," Rabastan said, jumping out of the cage the dogs had created and punching the butler in the face. The dogs disappeared for a split second, then reappeared, charging at Rabastan. One of them grabbed his leg and tore at it, sending blood streaming out from two huge puncture wounds. He yelled and cursed in pain, and didn't manage to grab the book. The butler looked startled, but calmed down when he saw his dogs protecting him.

Ted used that moment to break free as well, leaving Meda unprotected, but then nobody was paying her any attention anyway, including, most importantly, the dogs. He grabbed the book from the old man's hand, but the large heavy volume slipped from his grasp and slid on the floor. Both the old man and Ted lunged for it as Rabastan fought off the dogs and tried to stem the bleeding. Ted reached the book first, but had no way of disposing of it. His first instinct was to open it and tear the pages with his own two hands. The butler stood there in shock at this sacrilege of his precious book.

"What are you doing?" he screamed, much too loudly for a man of his age. "Do you even have any idea?"

But Ted wasn't listening; he continued to tear at the book's pages and throw them on the floor, stamping on them for extra measure. First the dogs disappeared, and then the old man collapsed, his face turning paler by the second. Rabastan had fainted; the swan was standing there, shocked, and by the time Ted looked up the old man was lying sprawled on the floor, dead, from what seemed like a heart attack. Ted sighed and flopped onto his knees, panting heavily. He wanted to collapse badly, but instead he went over to help Rabastan. Without him, they probably would've been dead, even though Ted didn't really want to admit this.

"Rabastan?" he asked softly. There was no answer, and so he tried to treat Rabastan's injured leg. As soon as he touched it though, Rabastan shot up.

"Ow!" he complained, and Ted rolled his eyes, but smiled.

"Stay still," he ordered him, but Rabastan was staring at something behind Ted's head. It was Meda, in human form.

"What the-?" Rabastan asked, watching Meda get up off the floor and dust herself off.

"Nice to see you too," she retorted, then smiled at Ted. But when she saw the extent of Rabastan's injury she winced. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, don't mind me," he said, waving nonchalantly. "I'll be fine. As long as you two are fine, what else matters?"

Meda and Ted stood there, confused. "What do you mean?" Ted asked. Rabastan took a deep breath, ready to explain.

"You two are meant for each other," he sighed. "I understand that now." His sheepish delivery of the semi-apology and sincere tone were the only things that made Ted and Meda believe a word of what he had just said. To Rabastan's surprise, Meda hugged him. When they were locked in their embrace for over more than a minute, Ted coughed subtly.

"Anyway," Rabastan said and the others hung on his every word. "I can do much better than this," he said, picking up a few strands of Meda's dirty, straggly hair. She gasped in fake-shock and hit him on the arm. Ted laughed. "But for you, mate, she's perfect," he added.

"Thanks," Ted said genuinely, and next Meda hugged him.

"Well?" Rabastan asked impatiently. "Are we ever going to get out of here?"

The three rode back on their horses, though Rabastan required a lot of assistance in walking and getting on his horse. Back at the palace, the Queen was having kittens.

"Are you two ever going to get married?" she asked Meda and Rabastan impatiently as she reprimanded them when they got back. Meda laughed.

"I hope not," she chuckled. "But Ted and I," she continued, and that made the Queen's eyes widen. "That just might happen."

The Queen nearly fainted, and whilst servants tended to her, Ted and Meda smiled at each other.

"Darn it," Ted said. "I wasn't going to propose till after our seventh year." Meda blanched and Ted laughed huskily, pulling her into his arms. "Only joking," he whispered in her ear, in a tone that suggested he wasn't really joking, but Meda couldn't question him on that, because her lips were otherwise occupied in kissing him.


	10. Chapter 10

Back at Hogwarts, the students in detention with Professor Webb began to wake up from their slumber. The professor watched them with an amused expression as each of them awoke, a million emotions running through their teenage minds. He never had tired of watching his students sleep in detention.

The familiar scents, sounds and sights flooded back to the students as they each woke up in the classroom at Hogwarts. The cold stone walls and floors, old wooden tables with hundreds of past students' names carved into them, the tapestries hanging on the walls to give the room warmth and the moving portraits greeted them like old friends. Some of them felt thrilled to be back, and yet some of them were less enthusiastic, their thoughts reverting back to the dream they had had. Once all of them were awake, though, the Professor addressed them, grinning like a child that had been set loose in Honeydukes with a thousand galleons from his parents.

"You may go now," he announced, his smile almost reaching each ear. Needless to say, it unnerved his students. "Detention is over." Then he packed up his things, shuffling his papers and stood up. His students did the same, standing up and filing out of the classroom, each of them not able to get out fast enough, for fear of their Professor doing anything else to them, like transfiguring them into frogs. Before Narcissa, the last to leave, got to the door, the Professor tapped her arm. She turned around and stared at him, her bright blue eyes wide with fear. She resisted the urge to gulp.

"Did you learn anything?" he asked, smiling at her and winking. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. For a moment she missed Lyanna dearly, and would rather have been shopping with her than in this situation.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked hastily, but then left before she could get an answer. She didn't even want one. The Professor didn't follow her though, just shook his head and smiled, heading back to his office.

"What did he ask you?" Bella asked, brandishing her wand in case the Professor had hurt her sister. She didn't care for Cissa that much, but she did want an excuse to harm him somehow. He had done something to her; cast a spell on her or something, she didn't quite know what, only that she wanted revenge for having that horrible dream, or whatever it was.

"He just asked me if I learnt anything," Cissa said, thinking back again to Lyanna and avoiding eye contact with Lucius. Lyanna had been a better sister than Bella could ever be, but she didn't exist in this world. Bella snorted.

"We were asleep, how could we learn anything?" Rabastan said, and the others agreed, each of them not wanting to tell the other about what they dreamt, for fear of being ridiculed. "Lousy Professor," he muttered and the others agreed once more. All of them made their way back to the Slytherin common room except for Ted, and despite the fact that they had all had lengthy naps; all of them fell asleep in their four poster beds within half an hour without fail, not dreaming as vividly as they had in detention, though, but still sleeping as deeply.


End file.
